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Ethiopia Is the Mother, Yemen Is the Father: An Honest Talk About Coffee, Saudi Arabia, and What We're Really Paying For
My name is Julia, and for a living I help businesses grow through systems and IT.
Coffee is a world where I'm just a curious guest: I love it, but I'm no expert.
So when my friend Georgii Pavliuchenko — a Green Coffee Specialist and director at a coffee company, the person who selects and buys the green, unroasted beans — came back from a business trip to Saudi Arabia, I couldn't resist putting him through a little interrogation over a cup of coffee. It started as casual chit-chat and turned into a journey across the world map.
Here it is.
Coffee is a world where I'm just a curious guest: I love it, but I'm no expert.
So when my friend Georgii Pavliuchenko — a Green Coffee Specialist and director at a coffee company, the person who selects and buys the green, unroasted beans — came back from a business trip to Saudi Arabia, I couldn't resist putting him through a little interrogation over a cup of coffee. It started as casual chit-chat and turned into a journey across the world map.
Here it is.
Is Saudi Arabia a bubble or not?
Julia: Let me start with a provocation. Is Saudi Arabia already a bubble in the coffee business, or not yet?
Georgii: Not yet — and not for a while. It all comes down to two things: the size of the market and the coffee culture. In Saudi Arabia people drink about 36 million cups of coffee a day, and the market is growing 10–12% a year. That's not an overheated bubble — it's a market on the rise.
And the numbers back it up. According to the country's Restaurants and Cafés Association, Saudis really do drink around 36 million cups a day — and with a population of roughly 35 million, that's about one cup per person per day. The country consumes some 80,000 tons of beans a year, and nearly 70% of its people are under 35. Under the Vision 2030 program, the government is investing in its own farms, roasting, and coffee tourism. So there's plenty of room to grow.
Georgii: Not yet — and not for a while. It all comes down to two things: the size of the market and the coffee culture. In Saudi Arabia people drink about 36 million cups of coffee a day, and the market is growing 10–12% a year. That's not an overheated bubble — it's a market on the rise.
And the numbers back it up. According to the country's Restaurants and Cafés Association, Saudis really do drink around 36 million cups a day — and with a population of roughly 35 million, that's about one cup per person per day. The country consumes some 80,000 tons of beans a year, and nearly 70% of its people are under 35. Under the Vision 2030 program, the government is investing in its own farms, roasting, and coffee tourism. So there's plenty of room to grow.
- 36 millionCup per day
- 80,000 tonsBeans a year
- 70%People are under 35
Julia: So where did the story of coffee actually begin?
Georgii: With two countries I like to call its parents. Ethiopia is the mother: this is where, in the wild forests of the southwest, arabica first appeared as a plant — long before anyone took a sip. Yemen is the father: this is where, back in the 15th century, people first grew coffee on purpose and turned it into a product.
Historians confirm it. Arabica evolved as a species in the Ethiopian highlands hundreds of thousands of years ago; the word itself is often traced to the region of Kaffa. There's even a lovely legend about a shepherd who noticed his goats got livelier after eating certain red berries. But drinking coffee the way we do today started in Yemen: Sufi monks brewed it to stay awake during night prayers, and through the port of Mocha (yes, that's where the word comes from) the drink spread around the world. Almost all the arabica on the planet today descends from those early Yemeni farms. So for the Arabian Peninsula, coffee isn't a trend — it's centuries of history.
Georgii: With two countries I like to call its parents. Ethiopia is the mother: this is where, in the wild forests of the southwest, arabica first appeared as a plant — long before anyone took a sip. Yemen is the father: this is where, back in the 15th century, people first grew coffee on purpose and turned it into a product.
Historians confirm it. Arabica evolved as a species in the Ethiopian highlands hundreds of thousands of years ago; the word itself is often traced to the region of Kaffa. There's even a lovely legend about a shepherd who noticed his goats got livelier after eating certain red berries. But drinking coffee the way we do today started in Yemen: Sufi monks brewed it to stay awake during night prayers, and through the port of Mocha (yes, that's where the word comes from) the drink spread around the world. Almost all the arabica on the planet today descends from those early Yemeni farms. So for the Arabian Peninsula, coffee isn't a trend — it's centuries of history.
Georgii Pavliechenko
Green Coffee Specialict
What a Saudi cup is like?
Julia: So what is a Saudi cup of coffee like? How does it smell and taste?
Georgii: Light, lively, and beautifully elegant. The aroma is floral and fruity — jasmine, blackcurrant, a hint of citrus. The first sip is bright, with a clean fruity acidity that refreshes rather than bites. The body is light, almost like tea, and the aftertaste is long and sweet, with notes of honey and orchard fruit. That's the classic Ethiopian profile, and it's exactly what the Saudi drinker loves. Order an espresso, and chances are it'll be Ethiopian — or an Ethiopian blend with a touch of Brazil to steady the acidity.
And it's not just a matter of taste: Ethiopian beans are the most in-demand on the Saudi market. The region's flavor and its history meet in a single cup.
Why not Brazil
Julia: But why not Brazil, when it's everywhere?
Georgii: Every region has its own "default setting." For Eurasia — Russia, the CIS, Eastern Europe — coffee means Brazil, because it all started with instant coffee, and that was made from cheap Brazilian beans. Even today, Brazil grows about a third of all the coffee in the world. But the Gulf wants a fruity, rich cup — and that's Ethiopia's profile, not Brazil's.
It's fascinating how taste is set in childhood and then shapes your choices for life: whatever you drank as a kid becomes your benchmark for "real coffee." For some people that's Brazil forever; for others, it's Ethiopia.
Julia: So what is a Saudi cup of coffee like? How does it smell and taste?
Georgii: Light, lively, and beautifully elegant. The aroma is floral and fruity — jasmine, blackcurrant, a hint of citrus. The first sip is bright, with a clean fruity acidity that refreshes rather than bites. The body is light, almost like tea, and the aftertaste is long and sweet, with notes of honey and orchard fruit. That's the classic Ethiopian profile, and it's exactly what the Saudi drinker loves. Order an espresso, and chances are it'll be Ethiopian — or an Ethiopian blend with a touch of Brazil to steady the acidity.
And it's not just a matter of taste: Ethiopian beans are the most in-demand on the Saudi market. The region's flavor and its history meet in a single cup.
Why not Brazil
Julia: But why not Brazil, when it's everywhere?
Georgii: Every region has its own "default setting." For Eurasia — Russia, the CIS, Eastern Europe — coffee means Brazil, because it all started with instant coffee, and that was made from cheap Brazilian beans. Even today, Brazil grows about a third of all the coffee in the world. But the Gulf wants a fruity, rich cup — and that's Ethiopia's profile, not Brazil's.
It's fascinating how taste is set in childhood and then shapes your choices for life: whatever you drank as a kid becomes your benchmark for "real coffee." For some people that's Brazil forever; for others, it's Ethiopia.
A question closer to my world
Julia: Now for a question that's more up my alley. What systems — what ERP — do the big players in the coffee business actually use?
Georgii: These days almost everyone moves to one simple, clear system that covers everything — Odoo. It handles the whole business from A to Z: sales, inventory, purchasing, finance, running the cafés — and then they customize it on top for the specific needs and quirks of each business. I've seen this both in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
For me, this is very familiar logic. Odoo is an all-in-one business system (an ERP) where sales, inventory, finance, and everything else live in one place. And the principle is the same everywhere, whether in coffee or any other industry: first one system that brings order, then customization for the business's needs. That's exactly how companies grow sustainably — not by patching holes, but by building a foundation.
Georgii: These days almost everyone moves to one simple, clear system that covers everything — Odoo. It handles the whole business from A to Z: sales, inventory, purchasing, finance, running the cafés — and then they customize it on top for the specific needs and quirks of each business. I've seen this both in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
For me, this is very familiar logic. Odoo is an all-in-one business system (an ERP) where sales, inventory, finance, and everything else live in one place. And the principle is the same everywhere, whether in coffee or any other industry: first one system that brings order, then customization for the business's needs. That's exactly how companies grow sustainably — not by patching holes, but by building a foundation.
Julia: Last question. Where can you drink a cup that truly surprises you?
Georgii: Specialty coffee is about the experience first, not just the taste. Only about 5–10% of cafés can offer something truly unique — the ones who invested the money and effort to make it theirs alone. A roaster will surprise you with the product; a coffee shop, with the service, the presentation, the atmosphere. In Riyadh, I'd send you to Truff. But at the end of the day, coffee is a business. It's just that the people who go into it really love it.
And that's where we landed. Coffee only seems like a story about taste — in reality, behind every cup there's geography, culture, money, and systems. And, as in any business, the winner isn't the one who simply tastes good, but the one who has built everything else around that taste.
Thank you, Georgii, for the coffee — and for turning an ordinary chat into a little journey across the world map.
Georgii: Specialty coffee is about the experience first, not just the taste. Only about 5–10% of cafés can offer something truly unique — the ones who invested the money and effort to make it theirs alone. A roaster will surprise you with the product; a coffee shop, with the service, the presentation, the atmosphere. In Riyadh, I'd send you to Truff. But at the end of the day, coffee is a business. It's just that the people who go into it really love it.
And that's where we landed. Coffee only seems like a story about taste — in reality, behind every cup there's geography, culture, money, and systems. And, as in any business, the winner isn't the one who simply tastes good, but the one who has built everything else around that taste.
Thank you, Georgii, for the coffee — and for turning an ordinary chat into a little journey across the world map.