Lexington’s first Yemeni-style coffee house will open soon, part of a growing nationwide trend of the cafés with late-night hours.
Shibam Coffee is opening at noon on June 14, with a ribbon cutting at 535 S. Upper St. in the CenterCourt complex, a block from the University of Kentucky campus.
Yemen is the birthplace of coffee, and Lexington’s first Yemeni café is part of a recent boom of shops across places like New York, Los Angeles and Michigan, where the movement started and Shibam Coffee is based.
The coffee shops bring Yemeni culture with its distinctive beans, extravagant decor, late hours and desserts. The owners say the new Lexington coffee shop is rooted in Yemen traditions while crafting a modern café experience.
“The beans are grown at high altitudes in small, family-run farms without the use of modern irrigation — relying entirely on rainfall,” Hera Qureshi, a Lexington native, previously said. “They’re naturally sun-dried in the cherry, which gives them complex, fruity, and wine-like flavor profiles.”
What’s the difference between a Yemeni coffeehouse and other coffee shops?
Two big differences between the typical American coffee shop and a Yemeni coffeehouse are the decor and the late-night hours.
Yemeni cafés, popular with Arab and Muslim populations, are filling a demand nationwide for late-hour, alcohol-free nightlife. That’s a trend Shibam Coffee’s Lexington location plans to follow, closing at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 p.m. the rest of the week.
The owners say the new Lexington café showcases Yemeni heritage with a thoughtfully designed, upscale interior with a refined yet welcoming atmosphere.
The two-story, 2,240 square-foot Lexington location features gold-plated interiors with carved wood accents all around.
What is on the menu at Shibam Coffee?
The drink menu features traditional Yemeni coffee, premium espresso drinks, lattes, matcha drinks, handcrafted teas, fruit-based refreshers and specialty lattes.
Shibam’s base is a rich, creamy blend of light roast Yemeni coffee, qishr, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon. The shop’s beans will be roasted at the flagship Shibam café and then shipped to Lexington, which is one of 10 upcoming locations the company is adding to the fast-growing existing 19.
Menu highlights include traditional Adeni Tea, Yemen’s famous spiced milk tea that is brewed slowly with black tea, whole milk, and features a blend of spices like cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
Other highlights include the pistachio latte, Spanish latte and a Turkish coffee, a bold dark roast Yemeni blend. Cold refresher drinks include Dragon Fruit and Strawberry Acai.
The local owners say Shibam Coffee’s desserts and pastries will stand out because its assortment is not commonly found in traditional coffee shops.
The pastry case will be full of cakes, breads and decadent treats inspired by Middle Eastern flavors, but locally baked.
Highlights include milk cake (a soft cake soaked in three milks with whipped cream) and Honeycomb breads (sweet, pull-apart bread buns that are often topped with honey, sesame and nigella seeds).
Shibam Coffee
Where: 535 South Upper Street, Suite 105
Opening: Noon June 14
Hours: 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thur.; 7 a.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat.
Parking: Free on-site parking located in rear of CenterCourt complex
Online: Shibamcoffee.com
