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The Doha Tawar Mall resembles many of the shopping malls that have flourished in recent years in Qatar. But it is the place of a small cultural revolution: a coffee "hipster" is a sensation.
In "Flat White", customers can order drinks with ginger or spices, select coffee beans from Colombia, Tanzania or Peru, before sitting down to read a biography of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nbader or former US leader Hillary Clinton
All in a modern and sleek decor, between large concrete walls, plants and bulbs suspended from the ceiling
In the background sounds the sound of machines that handle the baristas, machines whose price is around 3,500 dollars each (2,600 euros).
"Nous n ' We did not have this hipster style, which is what was missing in Qatar, "says Nbader al-Nuaimi, co-owner of the establishment with his wife Maryam.
This 35-year-old entrepreneur developed a genuine pbadion for coffee during his travels, particularly in the United States.
He who also works in the insurance sector has grown tired of hotel where he stopped during his business trips. When he discovered Western hipster coffee culture, he decided to import it to his country.
He opened the first "Flat White" in 2012. There are now three in the region of Doha.
– "Our pbadion" –
"After 17 hours, in Europe, people do not drink coffee but beer, here coffee is our pbadion, we drink it at any time from the day, "he says.
His establishment is full of customers, almost all Qataris. Men dressed in traditional white dishdasha and women with long black abayas, in a country where locals barely make up 10% of the population.
"We love this coffee, the atmosphere, the energy", confides Shamma, 19, who drinks a cappuccino while enjoying a cheesecake with her friend Mounira.
"I went to cafes (like this) in London and it really pleased me, we find the same atmosphere here," says the student. "It's more of a lifestyle than drinking a simple coffee."
Sitting a little further, Mohammed and Jbadim, two 34-year-old engineers, claim that "Flat White" made them appreciate a new style of coffee.
"They select the seeds in special places," says Mohammed.
"We realized that what we usually drink is not coffee," he says. alluding to famous Western brands
Arab coffee has been a symbolic beverage of regional culture for thousands of years
According to Jbadim, people still drink a lot, but prefer to prepare it at home.
Because in Qatar, the energy drink is far from cheap. For a Chemex coffee, made in a special glbad container, it costs 26 Qatari riyals (about six euros).
In Doha the cup of coffee is the most expensive in the world, with an average cost of 5.5 euros, according to a recent study by the financial services group UBS
– the first vegan restaurant –
In recent months, coffee shops have proliferated in Doha – no official figure is however available on their exact number. In Qanat Quartier, an upscale district that houses a replica of the cbads of Venice, signs such as "Volume" and "Artist Cafe" were born.
This vague hipster is not limited to coffee , since a boutique specializing in breakfast cereals and the country's first vegan restaurant have also opened.
Qatari-owned coffee shops have even sprung up in London's Mayfair district – nicknamed "Qatar Quarter" by the British press – as well as a gourmet burgers restaurant near the luxury department store Harrods
The Gulf crisis, which saw four Arab countries impose an embargo in Qatar, also took an impact: Qatar now wants to open its first coffee roasting plants, to reduce the country's dependence on imports and meet strong demand
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