Queen Yemeni coffee — Restaurant in Libertyville

WOW WOW WOW !!! What a wonderful experience! What a place! I had no idea that coffee could be so good!

Personal fave: Mufawaar - yesss please! Medium roast, cardamom, sweetened condensed milk, damn tasty (my go-to cup) Turkish coffee. Bring me all of it. lol (a little sugar and cream...blast off).

Desserts? Look out. Pistachio Cheesecake. You're next on my list.

Now, couple things.

The kids working there are so nice and so very pleasant. I'm always greeted with a smile and 'how can I help you'?. Behind the counter you can see that are learning how to work as a team. I can see that the jobs are not totally defined yet and milk and cream placement is not labeled so there is always a search for the cream when I ask for more. I can see where communication can be a little touch-and-go. The beauty of opening a business!! I would know! I've seen it all from opening bars and restaurants to running photography shows. It's really tough in the beginning. I salute them and their efforts and see them succeeding with just a little more practice and defined directives.

They are not slow, that's for sure. They move with purpose. What takes the most time is the process of making a CUSTOM cup of hand crafted coffee. I can understand that, heck I love to watch it happen. They are getting better every time I go in (visited 5 times now) and they are all moving in the right direction. What's great is that I can see they figuring it out and should be a well oiled machine before long. Shout out to Yosef & Jennah keep up the good work! (or is it Jena?) - either way, very nice meeting you both!

Something I learned the hard way. The coffee is hot. Not just hot-hot, it's boiling hot. Freshly poured from the sun-hot. Mufawaar translates to 'boiling hot delicious coffee' (kidding). Take note on this one. I have asked for 'less hot' and I think I need to be even more specific. Please be thoughtful before your first sip. :) (Maybe I'll try iced next time hahaha).

I'm trying to learn everyone's name and they have all be so kind and welcoming every time I stop in. This is a great place to gather and have small meetings and get to know 'the new-coffee-kids' on the block.

Do yourself a favor, stop in, order a cup of Mufawaar and sit back in their SUPER comfortable chairs (the big leather ones) and check your email as they make you a cup of coffee that you'll probably order again...just remember to take some time before that first sip. ;)

I look forward to supporting this shop and watching them grow.

R!

Randall Paetzold R! Series Photography / Libertyville...

Walking down a cold wintery street in the heart of Libertyville, you find yourself entering a small coffee house to get a cup of aromatic coffee and a treat to go with it. However, little did you expect that you'd be transported millions of miles overseas and travel hundreds of years back in time to relive the historical times of the birth of coffee. Welcome to Yemen, where coffee originated to fuel today's society. Every sip of the Queen of Yemeni Coffee Mudawaar sends a warmth of sunshine through your veins. The tumultuous mix of spices with a rich medium blend from Yemen and Ethiopia, lightly mixed with milk - you're sipping on gold that makes you feel at home being hugged by your loved ones and protected. A perfect pairing - baklava with pistachios that compliments the coffee and elevates all flavors into a cohesive desert that does not feel overwhelming - on the contrary, it's...charming, elegant, and light, yet rich, smooth, and creamy. To top it off, every table is filled with people looking to connect outside of technology, which creates a very warm community environment accompanied by traditional Yemeni instrumental music in the background. A place to visit, experience, and love.

P.S. couldn't help but get Turkish coffee at...

I’ve been here a few times during the week, early morning and it’s always the same kid working. I’ve noticed he is extremely slow with orders, so this morning I called to place an order over the phone. I told him the matcha should have almond milk and the latte 2%. About 5 minutes later I walk in to pick it up, and he hasn’t started my order yet. I noticed there was a family at the counter still deciding on what to order as well. The kid told me he was still working on my order, and then goes and takes the families order? Then another customer walked in for a coffee and he helped him too..then he finally started my order. I noticed there’s no sense of urgency for him when making drinks, and it’s infuriating when you try to order ahead before work. I then watched him pour 2% milk into the matcha..my girlfriend is allergic to milk and it would have been bad if I didn’t notice him using 2% instead of almond. I ended up telling him forget it because I had to go..after 15 minutes of waiting I never got any drinks and was...