Would you pay Dh3,600 for a cup of coffee? A cafe in Dubai is hoping connoisseurs will splash out to enjoy an ultra-rare variety sourced from a high-altitude, family-run farm in Panama.
The beans, a washed Geisha variety, will be roasted in “extremely limited quantities”, but a sample has been reserved for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Nido 7 Geisha will be available at Julith, a roastery brew lounge in Al Quoz, from November 1 as part of its Panama Geisha experience.
It follows Julith’s record-breaking purchase of the rare coffee at the 2025 Best of Panama Auction in August for a staggering Dh2.2 million ($604,080) – the highest price ever paid for a coffee lot.
The acquisition, alongside significant purchases by other local roasters such as Archers Coffee and The Espresso Lab, made global headlines and enhanced Dubai’s reputation as a prime destination for luxury coffee.
Serkan Sagsoz, head coffee roaster at Julith, is anticipating strong demand for the Nido 7 Geisha experience. “This is not a gimmick or marketing stunt,” he said. “Nido 7 Geisha is a remarkable coffee that only a handful of people on the planet will ever taste, and now, for the first time, that’s possible right here in Dubai.
“With so little of it in existence, every cup feels like a piece of history. I would be truly honoured to one day brew a cup for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed.”
What is included?
The Dh3,600 price includes guided tasting, an experience that traces the bean’s journey from Panama to your cup, with space for up to four guests in each group.
Each session will feature “one meticulously brewed cup, served simply and without embellishment”. Guests who prefer to forgo the experience can still enjoy the coffee on its own.
With only 20kg in existence globally, Nido 7 Geisha sparked an intense bidding war at the August auction, attracting 549 bids from the world’s most respected roasters and collectors before Julith ultimately secured the lot.
Why is Geisha coffee so expensive?
Geisha coffee was discovered in Ethiopia, but is also grown in Honduras and Colombia, as well as Panama.
It needs high mountains, rich soil and careful attention from farmers to grow because it is so delicate. Only a small amount is produced each year. But it’s not just its scarcity that makes it expensive. Experts also credit its incredible quality.
The bean made history at the Best of Panama Auction by scoring an unprecedented 98 points from 22 of the world's leading coffee experts, the highest result ever recorded in speciality coffee.
No variety had previously scored more than 96.5 points, and six international judges even awarded Nido 7 Geisha a perfect 100.
Harvested in April, the Nido 7 Geisha beans underwent a meticulous 48-hour cold-temperature fermentation followed by climate-controlled drying to preserve the flavour.
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Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
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Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
