SUNNYVALE, California — Centuries after Yemen first brought coffee to the world stage, the war-torn nation nestled between Saudi Arabia and Oman is now sharing another export with America: its distinctive coffeehouse traditions.
Establishments specializing in Yemeni-style beverages are expanding rapidly throughout the United States. Major chains operating these cultural cafes saw their locations jump 50% in the past year, reaching 136 outlets, according to restaurant consulting firm Technomic. This figure excludes numerous smaller operations and independent shops featuring imported Yemeni coffees and teas.
Several factors contribute to these coffeehouses’ rising popularity. They operate extended hours — often until after 3 a.m., particularly during Ramadan — creating gathering spaces for America’s increasing number of non-drinkers. Recent Gallup polling revealed only 54% of U.S. adults consume alcohol, marking a 90-year low.
“Generally in the Middle East, our nightlife is coffee, right? People hang out at coffee shops, they play cards, they talk. We wanted to bring that here,” explained Ahmad Badr, who operates an Arwa Yemeni Coffee franchise in Sunnyvale, California.
The cafes also benefit from America’s expanding Arab population. From 2010 to 2024, Arab Americans increased by 43%, far outpacing the overall U.S. population growth of approximately 10%, data from the Arab American Institute shows.
Though most Yemeni establishments cluster in areas with substantial Arab American communities like Michigan, California and Texas, they’re also appearing in unexpected markets including Alpharetta, Georgia; Overland Park, Kansas; and Portland, Maine.
Faris Almatrahi co-founded Texas-based Arwa Yemeni Coffee, which operates 11 locations nationwide with 30 additional sites planned. He explained that Yemen’s ongoing civil conflict, which started in 2014, has blocked Yemeni Americans from homeland visits, inspiring him to recreate Yemen’s atmosphere domestically.
Arwa establishments feature earth-toned desert colors, mosque-inspired archways, and lampshades resembling traditional Yemeni coffee farmer headwear.
“One of the ways to actually visit without traveling there was to bring that experience to the U.S., and that was a huge passion for us when we opened our first location,” Almatrahi stated. “It was extremely emotional for all of us due to the fact that it really transported us to Yemen.”
However, Almatrahi noted that most patrons aren’t Arab American. Market research firm Datassential reports that Americans increasingly seek authentic global flavors and experiences, with food trends spreading rapidly through social platforms.
While menus differ, Yemeni cafes typically feature specialties including Adeni tea, a spiced beverage resembling chai, and qishr, made from dried coffee cherry husks. Standard drinks like lattes incorporate unique spices or honey; Arwa’s lattes display camel designs created with spice stencils.
Display cases often showcase khaliat nahal (Yemeni honeycomb bread), a honey-drizzled cheese pastry, or basboosa, a syrup-soaked cake flavored with lemon or rose water. Many locations also offer conventional American coffeehouse items like matcha lattes or fruit refreshers.
Peter Giuliano, a Specialty Coffee Association researcher from the California-based nonprofit, identified culturally specific cafes as major U.S. coffee industry growth drivers recently. Beyond Yemeni establishments, he highlighted California’s Latin-style Tierra Mia chain and New York’s Nguyen Coffee Supply, which roasts Vietnamese beans.
First-time visitor Cindy Donovan discovered Badr’s Sunnyvale location through online searching on a recent weekday. The coffee enthusiast praised the Yemeni varieties she sampled.
“I think they’re much more refined and mellow, and much more full of flavor than a regular cup of dark roast, for instance,” Donovan observed. “The cardamom in the drinks is fantastic. Very, very flavorful, rich but not heavy.”
Most Yemeni coffee undergoes sun-drying, which intensifies flavor and reveals chocolate and fruit notes, Almatrahi explained. These cafes frequently blend coffee with special spice combinations called hawaij, potentially containing cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, coriander or nutmeg.
“Our coffee and teas are not just made through a fully automatic machine,” said Mohamed Nasser, operations director for Dearborn, Michigan-based Haraz Coffee House, which runs 50 U.S. locations with 50 more developing. “We have to manually blend and mix our coffee and tea, boil it with water and evaporated milk, make sure that it comes out (with the) perfect taste, perfect color.”
Coffee’s Yemeni roots run deep. Though the plant likely originated in Ethiopia, by the 1400s Yemen was cultivating it, with monks brewing coffee to maintain alertness during prayers, according to the National Coffee Association. Yemen controlled global coffee trade for roughly 200 years until Dutch traders smuggled seeds to Indonesia and established competing plantations.
Almatrahi credited a recent two-decade revival of Yemen’s coffee sector, driven by companies, foundations and young business leaders, with enabling the current American expansion. Coffee represents one of Yemen’s most promising economic development opportunities, particularly important since over 80% of the population lives in poverty, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization data indicates.
“We are ambassadors for our culture and our people. So when we open these shops, we want to perform the outreach, to show the hospitality, to show what we have to offer,” Almatrahi concluded.
