Palestine Shines in Berkeley at Jaffa Coffee Roasters

Inside the new Jaffaa Coffee Roasters cafe in Berkeley, California. All images courtesy of Jaffa Coffee Roasters.

Three Palestinian-American brothers opened a coffee shop and bakery in Berkeley, California, called Jaffa Coffee Roasters, celebrating the culture and flavors of their heritage while embracing modern specialty coffee concepts.

Stone, wood, bamboo, limewash walls and other earthy materials create a naturalistic feel, reminiscent of the historic port city of Jaffa (now considered part of Tel Aviv) as well as the Old City of Jerusalem, the early home of the brothers’ mother. Eleven rattan basket pendant lights impart coziness from the shop’s high ceilings.

Modern espresso equipment and grinders line a counter texturized with Roman clay and lime for a cave-like feel.

“[It’s] like it always existed for us to make and serve coffee from,” Jaffa Coffee Roasters CEO Noor Gaith told Daily Coffee News.

In the bathroom, visitors can find a zero-depth sink and old-fashioned bar faucet, like the ones the cofounders used in Palestine as children, between warm-colored walls tiled without grout for an imperfect look. By the front door of the shop, a surfboard covered in a Palestine flag by local artist Arun Khanna reflects the brothers’ Californian youth spent skating, surfing and snowboarding as American kids.

“The goals of the interior design of the space was to showcase both our identities and our travels across the world,” Mejdi Gaith, the baker and COO of Jaffa Coffee as well as chairman of umbrella company Gaith Bros Restaurant Group, told DCN. “As Palestinians born and raised in California on Ohlone Land, we wanted to tell the story of who we are and where we come from through design and experience.”

The Gaith brothers outside the new shop.

Artwork and murals around the space are all by Palestinian-American artists. A full wall depiction of a fruitful Jaffa orange tree by muralist Jason Al Ghussein references the sweet syrup used for the shop’s signature Jaffa Orange Latte.

Further down the shop’s “mocktails” menu is the Strawberry Sage Creek, featuring a syrup made with California-grown strawberries infused with Palestinian mountain-grown sage. The drink is also inspired by Strawberry Creek in Berkeley, a place sacred to the indigenous Ohlone tribe in the East Bay/Lisjan region.

The manual pourover selection also maintains a Palestinian perspective, showcasing the farms and farmers from which each coffee hails through the prism of the Palestinian palate.

“We searched for nostalgic tasting notes reminiscent of fruits and herbs we’ve had growing up in Palestine,” said Noor Gaith. “Our latest drip coffee highlights a natural process Ethiopia which gives notes of fig, jasmine and white honey, all tastes and smells any Palestinian is surely familiar with.”

Brothers Mejdi, Noor and Sami Gaith co-founded Jaffa Coffee Roasters in 2022 as the first brand under Gaith Bros Restaurant Group.

As head Roaster and CTO, Sami Gaith started off with a 5-kilo Probat and now roasts on the Loring machines at Bay Area CoRoasters. Profiles are determined in close collaboration with Noor, a certified Q Grader.

After a period of retail pop-ups and events while growing the wholesale roasting side of the business, the Jaffa Coffee Roasters cafe opened June 9 and has, for the most part, been warmly embraced by the city.

“People are super supportive of being in a Palestinian-conscious space,” Mejdi Gaith said. “Our ‘Free Palestine’ sign has been vandalized thrice, though this does not bother us. It reminds us of the cause we support, which speaks to the freedom of our homeland in the near future.”

Plans are underway to continue ramping up production in the roastery while also launching bakery operations into a standalone company called Seedough’s.

Jaffa Coffee Roasters is located at 1701 University Ave. in Berkeley. Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roastery here.