To honor their Palestinian heritage, the Gaith brothers—Mejdi, Noor and Sami—named their coffee roasting business and newly opened cafe, Jaffa Coffee Roasters. The historic port city of Jaffa, Sami said, is considered a “crown jewel” to Palestinians around the world. “It’s the epicenter of music, arts, language and agriculture in the northern part of Palestine,” he said. Born and raised in Napa Valley, the Gaiths pursued their own separate interests at college before they decided to start a company and work together.
With a background in chemical engineering, Sami is the coffee-roasting lead. In addition to his college business degree, Noor received his Q Grade certification from the Specialty Coffee Association in San Francisco. He manages the cafe on University Avenue, where he works as a meticulous and knowledgeable barista. Sami proudly describes his older brother, Mejdi, as a brand architect and policymaker for the company. Mejdi, who was a political science major, also happens to be a baker. He’s in the process of testing recipes for an autumn launch of Seedough’s, a companion business that will supply the cafe with pastries.
Jaffa started out as a pop-up. For the past year and a half, the Gaith brothers set out to establish the brand and work through the “inefficiencies” of starting a new business. “We learned how to roast with a micro-roaster,” Sami recalled. “From the start of 2023 till now, we’ve been doing charity events, of course, to support the cause of Palestine in Gaza. We’ve also done a few events in the Muslim community.”
Their roasting facility is also in Berkeley, which makes it easier to supply the cafe. Jaffa roasts coffee beans from every corner of the world. Although the brothers still test different varieties, Sami said he currently likes Ethiopian beans for pour-overs because of their “nice floral acidic taste with berries.” He added that Central American beans are good for making espresso, “due to their nutty and chocolate flavor.”
When I dropped by the cafe, Noor suggested I try a mocha-adjacent drink, the choco capp ($7). The menu describes it as “a Palestinian take on an Australian cappuccino with Jaffa mocha syrup, dusted with cocoa powder and cocoa nibs.” Other unique concoctions include a Jaffa orange latte ($7), infused with an orange syrup, and a crayma float ($8) which combines espresso, sparkling water and brown sugar syrup, and is topped with whipped cream.
Once Mejdi perfects his pastry recipes, the brothers plan to introduce desserts at the cafe. For the Gaith family, one of the sweets from Seedough’s will celebrate Jaffa’s celebrated oranges. “Oranges, much like Palestinians, have thick skin and resiliency, and are able to live in diaspora,” Sami said. Mejdi is developing a version of a Jaffa cake, “the Oreo of the U.K.,” according to Sami. For the uninitiated, in Britain it’s packaged as a cookie-sized sponge cake that’s layered with orange jelly and then covered in chocolate.
Seedough’s will also feature baklava and kunafa. Sami described kunafa as “filo dough, goat cheese or any sort of sweet cheese combination that is garnished in a simple syrup and bright green pistachios. It’s one of my favorite sweets in the world. In fact, I wish I had one right now.”
Sami said that Mejdi has traveled to Palestine more than 50 times. “I don’t even think I’m exaggerating that number,” he said. “He’s always reminded us to practice Arabic and remember the culture we want to be strongly connected to.” As brothers who are running a business together, they make decisions unanimously.
“We try to remain very sincere and intentional about the message we’re providing and how we present it,” Sami said. He admits it’s not always easy but said, “we always remain united even if there are disagreements. When somebody asks me, ‘How is it working with your brothers?’ It’s tough sometimes, but I think it’s very, very rewarding.”
Jaffa Coffee Roasters, open Tue to Sun, 7am to 4pm. 1701 University Ave., Berkeley. jaffacoffee.com
