Our Roots
The story behindthe cup.
Mokha is named after the Yemeni port city that gave the world its first coffee trade — a place where strangers became guests and guests became friends.
The Origin
An immigrant story,
a hospitality story,
a coffee story
Mokha was founded by a Yemeni family who carried the traditions of their home across oceans and planted them in the heart of Alberta. Edmonton is a city of immigrants — and Mokha is its coffee house.
The Port of Mocha was the world’s first great coffee trade route. Ships from every nation stopped there. Cultures collided over a cup. That same energy lives in every corner of our café.
“We didn’t open a café. We opened our home.”
Five Centuries
The long road
to Edmonton
Watch Our Story
Inside Mokha —
from bean to cup to community.
The Philosophy
Ziara —
the art of visiting
In Arab culture, receiving a guest in your home is among the highest expressions of character. You don’t merely serve them — you become responsible for their comfort, their joy, their memory of you.
At Mokha, every person who walks through our door is a guest in our home. From the first interaction to the last sip.
01
The Welcome
From the moment a guest walks in, they are received. Eye contact, a greeting, an immediate sense that they belong here.
02
The Cup
Every drink is made with the same care as something prepared for a guest in your home. No shortcuts. No indifference.
03
The Stay
Guests are never hurried. The 90-minute average stay isn’t a quirk — it’s the point. A good host makes you want to linger.
04
The Memory
Every guest leaves with a feeling. That feeling is Mokha’s true product — not the coffee, but the experience of having been genuinely welcomed.
The Founder’s Vision
“I wanted to build a place where anyone in Edmonton could walk in and feel like they were visiting a friend’s home — regardless of where they came from.”
Jamal
Founder, Mokha Coffee House