Arwa Yemeni Coffee Opens in Richardson | Eater Dallas

"Tucked on the corner of Spring Valley and Centennial Boulevard in Richardson, I discovered an oasis of Yemeni culture and community at Arwa Yemeni Coffee. The shop uses beans sourced from Yemen—fitting for a space named Arwa, which means beauty and grace—and the cups are filled with Yemeni-style coffee that is light, perfumed with spices, and never dark or bitter. Yemen reverberates throughout the interior: honeycomb tile floors, arches inspired by the historic Queen Arwa mosque, a corner bookshelf of books about the country, light fixtures that mimic the woven hats of Hadramout women farmers, and a commissioned stone mosaic of Sana'a set above a jelsa (traditional Arabic floor seating) designed for leaning back, relaxing, and sparking conversation. Founded by couples Shihab and Yazan Soofi and Faris Almatrahi and Noura Soofi and opened in December 2022, the team says their goal was to make people “feel they’re walking out of Richardson and into Yemen.” The menu is a compact education in Yemeni coffee and tea traditions: spiced coffees and teas including qishr (a husk-based, spiced preparation), the milk-based Mofawer, the Jubani (a 50/50 blend of coffee beans and qishr with spices named for Juban), Sanaani Coffee, and the best-selling Aden—a blend of premium black tea, caramelized sugar, evaporated milk, and Arwa’s proprietary spice blend. The owners emphasize a zero-waste approach by using coffee husks in preparations, note that Yemenis drink these beverages throughout the day, and explain that caffeine strength varies (drinks using husks are significantly less caffeinated than pure-bean drinks). To introduce Metroplex customers to these traditions, Arwa offers a Monday–Thursday sampler of four Yemeni-style drinks to share, and a shareable pot (about four drinks) is promoted for conversation and community. During Ramadan (through April 21 this year) they extended hours—open until 10 p.m. Sunday–Wednesday and midnight Thursday–Saturday—to allow more time for bonding over coffee, culture, and the jelsa experience." - Didi Paterno