Beirut through the eyes of the woman who introduced specialty coffee 🇱🇧

Dalia Jaffal is maybe the most interesting person yet to make a Filter guide. In 2015 she co-founded Kalei Coffee in Beirut, making her the woman who brought specialty coffee to Lebanon. Kalei has since expanded into a roastery and two cafes in the capital of Lebanon, and Dalia’s Filter is a well-traveled coffee professional’s guide to their favorite markets, bars, and hikes in their home country.

Filter: What do you like to do for fun around Beirut?

Beirut is a city of sunshine and good weather and whenever possible I like to be outside. When time and weather allow, I like to walk on the coastal strip called the “corniche” and watch the waves break on the rocky reef. It’s also a city that doesn’t sleep much and you can find what you’re looking for almost at any time of day or any day of the week. The shops are bountiful for eating, drinking, and shopping. Eating out is quite common around here and I do that quite often (guilty!). I like to go to Souk el Ahad (Sunday market) about once a month to find everything and nothing. Sometimes just going there is fun to just see what made its way to those stalls. Every weekend I get out of the city to detox mentally and physically, and if you live here you’ll quickly learn that escaping the city regularly is a must (and our dog loves this too!) Lately I have been spending a lot of time in the Chouf Mountains.

*Dalia Jaffal introduced specialty coffee to Lebanon when she co-founded Kalei Coffee in Beirut in 2015. Photos courtesy of Kalei Coffee*

Filter: Okay, top recommendations for the Chouf Mountains?

I like going on hikes in the Chouf Biosphere Reserve—it’s the largest reserve of the country and it has entrances from multiple sides of the mountain, each side offers a completely different fauna and flora. It is also one of the few remaining places in the country that is home to the famous Lebanese Cedars that is on our national flag. The Barouk Cedars are one of my favorite spots. In winter you can snowshoe and rent some shoes at the entrance. Make sure to buy some local products from the entrance cabins, they’re often full of local and seasonal products from the area. The hikes are beautiful no matter what corner you choose to do!

Dalia Jaffal introduced specialty coffee to Lebanon when she co-founded Kalei Coffee in Beirut in 2015.

Spending a night at La Maison des Sources if you’re looking for a comfy splurge or at Maison de la Vallee if you are into more modest overnight resting spots.

Other favorite nature spots are Ehden Nature Reserve and the Ammiq Wetlands!

Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

Food, food, and once again, food! I would start with a list of restaurants to visit and on that list you will surely find Varouj (Aleppan Armenian restaurant that is famous for offal) for lunch or dinner. If they fancy some typical breakfast and like adventure then I would take them to El Soussi where you can eat one of the best fatteh (chipeas, garlic, yogurt, toasted bread) or ful (warm beans dish served with olive oil and lemon). Of course after breakfast, I would take them to one of our two locations (Kalei Coffee Co. Ras Beirut and Kalei Coffee Co. Rue 54) for a good dose of coffee. Our café is also a good option for an all-day brunch kind of menu serving eggs all ways, avo, traditional flat bread with zaatar, sandwiches, and salads.

For drinks and a bite, Fizz is a new place in town that is worth paying a visit to, and Riwaq is an old-school / hip bar that has always been true to its crowd.

Beirut is a city rich in culture and history and I would make sure to take them to the National Museum for some history, to the Sursock Museum for some art, and take them out to some live music gigs. We are proud of our nightlife and hospitality and there will always be something happening somewhere in the city!

Kalei Coffee in Beirut, Lebanon.

Filter: Where can you recommend for nightlife?

Ballroom Blitz is one of the few places where you can get a decent experience and get value for your night out if you’re after a clubbing night. I am personally more of a bar person when I do go out and some of my top places at the moment would be Torino Express, Fizz, Standard, and Riwaq!

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

Go hiking! If you’re based in Beirut on your trip, you can do a lot of micro adventures and go for a day. If you’re into serious hiking I recommend checking the Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) website and choosing routes from there to do. You can also stay at some of the recommended accommodations that you can also find on the page. The trail runs through the whole country from north to south (though I wouldn’t recommend going south now with the tensions and fighting happening on the southern borders!) If you’re here during winter season, there are multiple skiing slopes worth the visit!

If you’re not into hiking, then the coast is full of beaches and nice spots by the sea to chill, swim, have a drink, or eat. Famous spots north for beaching are Byblos, Batroun, and Chekka.

Filter: What touristy things in Beirut are worth the hype?

I mentioned the corniche before, I would definitely try to make it there once on a non-weekend day. If you’re in Beirut on the weekend you should check out some farmers markets: Souk el Tayeb on Saturdays and Badaro Urban Farmers on Sunday. These are good stops to load up on some goods from here to take home with you.

Take a walk in Bourj Hammoud, the Armenian neighborhood, and discover Armenian culture. (There is a big Armenian community in Lebanon.) If you’re up for cabaret-style evenings then make sure you go to Metro el Madina and watch Hichik Bishik (the show).

Definitely go to Souk el Ahad if you are into adventurous and unusual markets!

For more ideas, I always recommend going to a café and asking the barista.

Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners there?

I would not be lying if I say there are literally no quiet corners in this city! It’s quite a noisy and bustling city with not many rules when it comes to noise pollution. Cars honking, generators running, people buying things out loud and shouting at each other from their balconies, ambulant vegetable vendors—you name it, it is happening on the streets of Beirut.

That said, there are some more quiet hooks and nooks in the city such as the Horsh Beirut (always check the opening times beforehand as it can be quite weird), and definitely take a walk at The American University of Beirut Campus (AUB). It’s one of the most beautiful university campuses I’ve been to. The rest of the city is more or less quiet in the early hours of dawn so if you’re into running, that could be a good time to go.

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire?

My answer here may be unusual but I really admire our traditional “coffee trucks” that are literally in every street, every intersection, every highway. You can’t go anywhere without seeing one. Often you will find older men as baristas that don’t really follow barista championship protocol serving you your drink, and while they don’t really serve specialty coffee, I always find that they are really always there, very approachable, ready to serve what they know best, and do it with a lot of dedication! And most importantly at a fair price for what you get! And for me this is what serving coffee should be about. You can choose one press aka espresso kabseh or two presses aka double espresso kabesten which is really a lungo. And the cappuccino is not without condensed milk.

If you spend a little bit of time asking them about the coffee beans they use, most of the time they will share with you interesting stories and say them with a lot of pride. I really think that the coffee scene in the country can’t be the same without them.

Filter: What makes Beirut feel most like home to you?

The café most of all, I think I would be lost without it. This is where all my friends and loved ones come together and where I make my new friends and colleagues all the time. Apart from that, I would say our seasons and what they bring to the table every few weeks. It gives me a sense of time and a lot comfort knowing that the olives have been pressed, that the mandarins are harvested, and that goat labneh is not to be found before the spring again.

Filter: How did you end up in the Beirut coffee scene?

I am Lebanese, born in France and lived around in different places growing up. I was always into coffee but I REALLY got into specialty coffee when I got in touch with coffee farmers cooperatives in East Africa (during an agricultural development project I was working on) and decided to bring specialty into Lebanon. Of course back then, Beirut was still a stranger to specialty coffee. To deliver the quality we had in mind, we had to buy our own green beans, roast our beans ourselves and manage the whole chain of supply from farm to cup. We started a webshop and sold coffees that we roasted on a 200g fluid bed roaster in 2015 and went on to open our physical doors in 2016 with our Mar Mikhael location (near the Armenian neighorhood) with a 6kg roaster and in 2019 with our Ras Beirut location with a 15kg roaster. I became a Specialty Coffee Association Instructor (AST)—we now also offer courses in our roastery!—and in 2019 I got my Q Grader.

Filter: Can you share about your role at Kalei?

I am an owner and co-founder of Kalei but also a managing partner. I am in charge of coffee QC from buying to the end cup and also take on day-to-day operational responsibilities in both shops. You will see me in either location 5 to 6 days a week! The most rewarding aspect for me is the people, those I get to work with side by side everyday and of course those that come over as guests to get their caffeine punch everyday. We strive to be an inclusive space for all and it feels nice to see it come together everyday in a very extravagant place that is Beirut.

Lastly, you’re always spoiled with good coffee and other edibles and drinkables when you work in a place like Kalei so I can’t complain!

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move?

I have been dreaming about Vietnam ever since I got into the specialty coffee world. It’s not one particular place that I have in mind but more of a general mood that I think about. Every now and then I hear new things coming out of there and it only grows my curiosity, a lot of interesting cafes and drinks and ways of doing that make me really hope to make it there soon!

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Kalei Coffee operates 2 locations in Beirut, Lebanon.

Kalei Coffee - Rue 54

Kalei Coffee - Ras Beirut

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