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Kuwait’s Coffee Culture Awakens A New Generation of Community and Creativity

CultureKuwait's Coffee Culture Awakens A New Generation of Community and Creativity

Kuwait City – Those were the times when Kuwaiti coffee culture revolved around strong, thick Arab coffees and very old, venerable coffeehouses. Today, they exist in the memory. Today’s city-cafes are not houses one would happen to stumble upon and have a drink of the stuff-they are now thrill points which are social hubs, think tanks, and culture meeting grounds.

In the past ten years, there emerged a new type of coffeehouse that revolutionized Kuwaiti life. The new cafes mix authentic taste with new look, i.e., roasted coffee, and cosmopolitan style. To some buyers, especially the younger of the two, they are not just hangouts. They are sites of expression, co-creation, and convergence.

“Drinking a cup of coffee with someone seated over a book one is reading or an art show at a café is drinking coffee with someone,” said one of Salmiya café’s owners. “It’s not consumption but culture.”

These cafes are home to a consistent trickle of one-offs like poetry readings, live performances, and spontaneous art shows. They provide space for local artists and thinkers to showcase their work—and customers, in return, the pleasure of being in more intimate contact with the Kuwaiti art scene. The former elite club café where hours were lost to ego is now a hub of activity and activism.

Despite all of this modernization, there is still much of the old Kuwait. With the exception of one, all of the cafes offer Arab coffee and espressos, a reflection of the nation’s ability to modernize without forgetting its roots.

“These are multicultural communities of Kuwait,” said one university student, who uses cafes frequently. “You hear people speaking other languages, eating different food, and talking to people with very different backgrounds. It’s great.”

Sustainability is also catching up in Kuwait’s new coffee scene. Restaurant owners increasingly opt for more ethically produced coffee beans and going green—anything from green cups to teaching customers how to go green. For the price-sensitive consumer, it’s a highly desirable trend that balances values and lifestyle.

But while the madness of contemporary cafes is in, old-fashioned coffeehouse is cool. The old-fashioned coffeehouse is the choice of people who prefer a more subdued, retro atmosphere. Where they are located, customers sip traditional beverages in an atmosphere that is delivering communication comfort and cultural exchange.

“Today the future of the Kuwait café hangs between past and present,” a cultural historian in Kuwait City says. “There’s old and new side by side together, living together—it must.”

Whether it’s the zip of lattes and laptops in hip city café, or the tarab-rich luxury of Arabic coffee in the ageless diwaniya tradition, the following can be assured: Kuwaiti coffee culture has spilled much broader than the drink. It’s people, conversation, and ritual that fill every cup.

When they open, they don’t simply release a sip of coldness—they release connection. And the more the world is in motion, more and more mobile, that might just be the ideal drink of all.

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