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'I believe that coffee shops like DXBlends can contribute to the soft power of the UAE'

Eng. Anas Al Madani, founder of the speciality coffee brand, on the larger impact of the city's cafe culture

When Emirati businessman Eng. Anas Al Madani was studying in Seattle, the city's coffee culture inspired him to open-up a nice third-wave coffee shop in the UAE where people could sit, enjoy, work, relax, and most importantly, enjoy coffee.

As a result, DXBlends was created.

And with Eng. Anas’ passion, the brand has grown exponentially and now boasts a total of eight branches across Dubai. Founded in 2013, DXBlends was the first food and beverage affiliation of INDEX Holding, a leading Emirati national company, of which Eng. Anas is the Vice Chairman and Group CEO.

DXBlends is located across Dubai in many key locations such as Al Wasl, Mirdiff, Dubai Hills Emaar Business Park, its newest branch, and in Wafi Mall, where the venue recently underwent a revamp, and officially re-opened on November 14.

During the reopening, DXBlends received honoured guests to support the Emirati brand that included Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of MBM Group and President of the UAE Rugby Federation; Ambassador Dr Ahmed Al Banna; Dr. Habib AlAttar, Expert in Culture & Arts; Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai Investment Development Agency (FDI); Mahir Julfar, Executive Vice President at Dubai World Trade Centre; Khalid Al Marri, from the Department of Economy and Tourism; Anwar Al Hanai, Dubai Holding Asset Management; Mansoor Ahli, CEO of Mansoor Ahli Group; Daeej Raisi, Emirati Businessman; and Dr Sultan Al Muhairi, who were all received by Eng. Anas and his partner for DXBlends, Adel Khunji.

Located on the first floor of Wafi Mall, one of the city’s foremost and most prestigious malls, the indoor café sports a modern elegant interior and is very inviting to all those looking to have a good time.

With the revamp, the café can now host more patrons than before. Digital nomads can also utilise the space to get their work done, or replenish themselves with a variety of world-class coffees as well as delicious bites available at the café.

Some of the latest additions to the revamped venue include a live cooking station that serves breakfast, and new cutting-edge brewing implements which will help add to the quality of DXBlends' specialty coffee.

And that's where Eng. Anas' focus is, on specialty coffee from the UAE. “We always import coffee brands and many other brands,” he says in a conversation with City Times during the re-opening.

“But our aim is to export our coffee brand to other countries around the world. Coffee, specifically, started from the Arabic Peninsula and has a lot of connections to this part of the world. And we want to show that connection in other parts of the world.”

This lines up very well with Eng. Anas' core interest; of taking Emirati culture to other nations.

“I believe that coffee shops like DXBlends can contribute to the soft power of UAE,” he said. “Once we are outside in other countries, we are not only taking our brand, but also our culture. So, based on this concept, I believe it is going to play a very vital role in the soft power of the country.”