Tampa Bay gets in on Yemeni cafe trend

Zoom in: Along with Qamaria and Arwa, standalone Yemeni coffee shop Socotra Café opened last summer in Temple Terrace. Haraz Coffee House launched in Wesley Chapel at the beginning of the year.

• St. Pete is set to get its first shop this fall with Mocha Bay, planned for the ground floor of the Princess Martha downtown, St. Pete Rising reported.

Why Yemen? The Middle Eastern country is considered the birthplace of coffee and still supports small growers, many of whom export coffee to relatives who run U.S. cafes.

• The word mocha even comes from a Yemeni port city that was once a center of coffee trade.

Big draws: Pastries (some laced with Dubai chocolate), elegant interiors, a vibe that invites lingering and late hours, often until 10pm or midnight.

What to order: Traditionalists go for honey-drizzled pastries with strong, spiced Adeni chai (named for the Yemeni port of Aden) or jubani and qishr, brewed from dried coffee husks and spices.

• But the cafes also offer iced and hot lattes, matcha, cappuccino, espresso and more, along with cookies, cheesecake, cinnamon rolls and elaborate confections that include large fruit-shaped pastries filled with fruit, cream and cake.

What's next: Yemeni coffee entrepreneur and Haraz founder Hamzah Nasser told Bon Appétit he expects Yemeni cafes to be as ubiquitous in the U.S. as Starbucks by 2030.