Your Guide to Third Wave Coffee and Where to Find it in Jeddah

The Third Wave Coffee phenomenon, also known as the specialty coffee movement, is a trend that has been taking off lately amongst coffee lovers. But what exactly is Third Wave Coffee or artisanal food? Guest writer and coffee connoisseur Abdullah Yahya explains the basics to us in this fascinating blog post, shedding some light on this latest trend, and taking us on a journey through Jeddah reviewing the city’s cosy third wave cafés.

We love hearing your opinions, so please leave a comment at the end of this blogpost. Have you visited any of these places? What did you think of them? Which is your favourite? Hoping to get lots of feedback so that I can persuade Abdullah to write another blogpost for us very soon.

Also, stay tuned for a detailed review of our recent visit to Medd Café coming up very soon. Please do take a minute to subscribe in the right-hand menu to ensure you don’t miss any future posts.

The philosophy behind Third Wave Coffee is that people should be treating coffee less like an everyday commodity and more like artisanal foodstuff. For this reason, much attention is focused on:

• The type of coffee beans used and the quality, so they focus on using a single-origin high quality bean, as opposed to blends. They tend to have a direct relationship with growers, and only buy fair-trade beans.

• In house roasting of the coffee beans daily to ensure the quality of the coffee used.

The preparation methods are carefully observed, including how much of the ingredients are added and how they are added. They treat coffee making as an art, but they use scientific precision as well. That means measuring the amount of coffee carefully, and the water, as well as the temperature of water and milk used.

New coffee brewing methods are used, as opposed to using the usual coffee filter machine, like Chemex, Hario V60, and AeroPress®.  They are in general slower and more elaborate, but the result is a superior coffee.

In the last couple of years, more and more third wave cafés have opened up in Jeddah and they are becoming increasingly popular. Some of the trendiest are highlighted below.

Caffeine Lab

This place sells coffee beans and all relevant supplies directly to the customers and trains them in how to prepare the coffee. You can also go there just to enjoy a cup of coffee. It doesn’t however, sell any food, cake, or snacks, so in a sense it is more of a retail shop that sells coffee.

Location: King Fahad Street, Al-Faisaliyah Dist, to the north from Al-Serafi Megamall. Tel: 059 911 0092

Medd Café and Roastery

Coffee Art at Medd Café

One of the trendiest coffee shops in the city with friendly service and excellent coffee. It gets very busy on weekends so expect to wait for a table, and it takes a long time for your coffee to be ready, so don’t go there if you are pressed for time. I love the vibes in that place; the look, the aroma from the beans, and especially the coffee. For me, the best Chemex coffee I have had was there.

They get extra points for offering a delicious array of homemade cakes and snacks. They also have a retail section where they sell coffee-making equipment and very cool mugs.

Location: Beach Tower Northern Corniche، Jeddah 21452, Saudi Arabia. Tel: +966 12 613 2122

Brew92^o

Brew 92°

The friendliest of services coupled with excellent choices of coffee and coffee beans. Very good Chemex, and their Flat White is especially great. They also serve all-day breakfast, so do try their omelettes and waffles. They offer salads and a few other dishes too. The place gets busy on weekends. Prices are moderate for the quality you get, and because it is closer to the center, it is the place I actually visit the most.

Location: Prince Saud Al-Faisal Street, Al-Khalidiyah Dist., opposite Saudia City, Tel: +966-564699118.

Cup & Couch

Cup & Couch

One of the more recently opened coffee spots. Very intimate and run by friendly young Saudis. The coffee is very good and the atmosphere is very casual. I tried their barista recommended Kalita coffee, and it did not disappoint at all. I also had coffee latte with coconut milk which was nice too. They also offer homemade cakes, but I was not wowed by them, and to me this is my one point that I think they should improve.

As for the ambience, I enjoyed being there very much, and so did my friends, including young children. You feel you are in a party in someone’s home with all the chatter of the customers hanging around. Upstairs in the family section they have a bench and a few tables, with board and card games and that only amplify the homeliness of the place.

Location: Al Yamamah St, Al-Salamah Dist, near Ice Land. Tel: +966 59 727 3474

Cold brewing at Medd Café

Warm & Frosty Café

Warm and Frosty

The smallest one I have visited so far. Their family section is not ready yet, so as of now they only have the single section or the coffee to go, which is what I had. The Chemex coffee was very good and strong. They are also a retailer for coffee tools and equipment. I would say given their location, they are more suited to serve the area around them, but I did not find them special enough for me to go back, not unless I am in the area.

Location: Hilmi Kutbi St, Al-Zahra’a Dist. Unit No. 16 Jeddah 23521 6172, Tel:  00966-12 616 4890

A Review of Tuesday in Love: the Breathable, Peelable, Halal Nail Polish

How excited were we when Tuesday in Love, a Canadian company specializing in water permeable nail polish were kind enough to send us some of their gorgeous nail polish colours to try out and review! It didn’t take long for me to sit down with my very close friend and beautician Sonja Morgan from Skin Deep, and try out their beautiful shades.

We loved the colours; Cotton Candy, (YOLO) You Only Love Once and Applause, with the topcoat on the far right.

Coverage

Firstly, what we noticed was that overall the nail polishes provided great coverage. They went on very nicely and gave decent cover in one coat. The colours are funky, bright and young. Perfect for young girls and teens. We were pleasantly surprised to find that there was no strong chemical smell emitting from the nail polishes (unlike Inglot, which has a very strong smell).

Brush Size

The brushes are quite small and hence ideal for smaller nails and for painting neat edges.

Solution

The red solution was the thinnest and the pink was quite thick. The blue (we would describe it as Air Force Blue) was a smooth solution, whereas we tend to find that usually blues are quite thin. The colours had quite a nice sheen to them, and the nails appeared to be evenly coated, covering over imperfections and ridges. The solutions were opaque and just a minimal amount is needed on each brush.

We felt that they took a little longer to dry, but this can be an advantage as it is very forgiving; it is quite easy to correct any mistakes. The red was the only one which we felt really needed two coats.

The topcoat went on opaque, but dried as clear.

Bottle Size

We felt that the bottles are a great shape. They are smaller than others you will see on the market and very young and hip looking. The bottles are very easy to carry around, similar to Chanel bottles in fact. They are solid, and not tapered hence they are not easy to knock over.

To remove, simply peel off!

Removal

The most amazing thing about the Tuesday in Love nail polishes is that nail polish remover is simply not required. The solution, once dried, is completely peelable, and comes off in one piece.

The Halal Factor

One of the most important aspects for many Muslim women is that this nail polish is water permeable, and therefore halal. For those who are not already aware, Muslims must perform ablution for prayers five times a day, and the water must touch every part of their body. Regular nail polish does not allow one to do that and blocks the water out. Tuesday in Love is great for those who want to wear a nail polish temporarily – just for a lunch date, for example, and then peel it right off.

You can take a look at their halal certificate on their website. The company even give you instructions on how to test the ‘halalness’ of the product yourself.

Longevity

We felt that this was a disadvantage for Tuesday in Love. The nail polishes are not very hard wearing, and tend to chip and dent even when a topcoat is applied.

Price

At just over $12 per bottle, Tuesday in Love is quite competitive and even a touch cheaper than their rival Inglot.

Conclusion

Overall, we loved the nail polishes and feel that they are great for casual wear especially for younger girls and teens. The brush and bottle sizes are tailor-made for smaller hands, the colours are young and vibrant, and the ease of application and removal are perfect for girls who go to school and want to wear nail polish on the weekends.

The nail polish emits a soft sheen, rather than a high gloss finish, so for adults we recommend Tuesday in Love for casual events, and not necessarily for formal wear. I would definitely use Tuesday in Love nail polishes simply due to their stunning colours and peel-ability. You can’t really go wrong!

 

TaskSpotting – Make Money While You Shop!

When the nice people at TaskSpotting contacting us at Jeddah Blog and asked us to take a look at their app, I was quite intrigued. The concept is so simple that I was surprised as to why no-one had come up with it before. Shop, complete missions and earn cash. Read on for details on how to sign up and how it works.

Although new to Saudi, TaskSpotting has been around for over a year, with thousands of app users cashing in and making money while shopping, eating out, and going about their usual errands, basically without having to go out of their way at all.

The concept is simple. Brands place ‘missions’ on the app, which app users can accept and complete. Missions could be as simple as taking a picture of a supermarket shelf or checking the price of an item at a store. Once completed, missions are submitted and approved and the cash appears in your e-wallet! One couple in Dubai made 1000 Dirhams in one weekend through the app.

TaskSpotting has recently launched in Saudi with missions all over Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah. The missions are simple; such as price checks for washing powder take literally 5 minutes per mission, and pay 50SAR each. App users are allowed to complete 10 missions each so they could earn up to 500SAR in a day. Hard to resist!

Download TaskSpotting now and start making money!