We were excited to try the new coffee shop at the Saraya Corniche Hotel – 180 Degree – because we heard they offer a different kind of coffee that comes not in the usual black.  

180 Degree is located at the lobby, one of the three F&B outlets inside the hotel. It’s open 24 hours a day, and serves a variety of desserts, pastries and sandwiches, on top of their unusual coffee selection.

Cafe Interior 180 Degree

The coffee shop got its name from the setting point for roasting the coffee beans – which should be at 180 degrees, hence the name, and which, according to our research is the ideal roast for the darker and stronger espresso, popular among Arab drinkers.

Green and Blue Coffee

They served the cold coffee in tall, clear cups, garnished with a small rosebud on the side, while the hot variety has the name of the coffee shop – 180 Degree – written on the froth. It looked very much like a ‘macha’ – that popular Japanese tea drink served in coffee chains around Doha, except that it’s really coffee and surprisingly very much so, in terms of aroma and taste. The ‘green’ coffee is the house coffee, almost milky with the taste of coffee lingering as an after taste.

Jolnar, the ‘blue’ coffee, is said to be inspired by the flower with the same name, famous in Syria and Lebanon. Jolnar is known in Qatar as Mohammadi and more commonly as Damask rose. This rose variety is used to make rose water. The cold blue Jolnar coffee is lighter and obviously infused with the flower and very refreshing. It complements the saffron milk cake (another unusual find), served in dainty, brass pans. We also had the black forest cake and their pavlova, both looking very sweet, but not quite, which will make you want to eat more.

180 Degree uses only fresh ingredients according to their Pastry Chef, Alaa. They bake and create everything they serve within the hotel.  Their coffee however, is a different story. No matter how we try to coax the information from the staff, they still wouldn’t give us a clue on what makes their coffee blue (or green). They did however, hinted at sourcing materials from Lebanon.

It was an afternoon of contrast, really. Coffees that are not black, cakes that look sweet but not really sweet. Even the sandwiches had part of their spread not in between the breads! But our pictures are gorgeous and our coffee craving, satisfied.

Check out this link for more information about Saraya Corniche Hotel.