252 baristas compete in the free UAE AeroPress Championship at Almas Tower

Coffee lovers in Dubai have three free evenings to look forward to next week. The tenth UAE AeroPress Championship takes over Almas Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers from 12 to 14 November, with 252 home brewers and baristas from all seven emirates competing for the national title.

The competition is built around the AeroPress, the small plastic plunger brewer that has a cult following among coffee fans. Each round, competitors brew a cup with their own recipe and judges taste them side by side and pick the best. DMCC, the free zone that runs Almas Tower and its Coffee Centre, is the host, and the event is organised by the Dubai specialty coffee company Mokha 1450 together with the World AeroPress Championships. This year's theme is "United and Strong".

The format follows the emirates. On Thursday 12 November, 144 competitors from Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain brew in the first regional round. On Friday 13 November, 108 from Dubai, Ajman and Fujairah take their turn. The top three from each emirate go through to the national final on Saturday 14 November, where 21 finalists compete. The winner represents the UAE at the World AeroPress Championship in Mexico City on 6 December.

Numbers have grown fast. The last edition, held at the same tower in November 2025, had 21 finalists after regional rounds over two days, and the organisers say applications this year far outnumbered the places. Mokha 1450's chief executive, Garfield Kerr, describes the UAE event as the largest coffee competition in the world by number of competitors. DMCC uses the championship to promote its Coffee Centre, which handles roasting, storage and trading for coffee companies based in the free zone.

Entry is free and open to the public, and each evening's competition starts at 6pm. Almas Tower is in Cluster A of Jumeirah Lakes Towers, a short walk from DMCC Metro Station on the Red Line, so the Metro is the easiest way to get there. DMCC has not said whether seats need to be booked, so arrive early on the final night, when the room is likely to be fullest.