Cultural aspects related to coffee-making and drinking, with emphasis on various distinctive tastes, are among the highlights of 'My Coffee My Identity' festival at Katara, the Cultural Village Foundation.
Open to the public until Monday, from 10am to 10pm at Katara beach, the unique exhibition has been attracting a substantial turnout of visitors since it opened on Thursday.
The cultural departments of 12 embassies have put up stands at the event displaying varieties of coffee and related products from their countries. There are 30 other stalls by a similar number of companies.
Countries participating in the festival include Egypt, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Iran, Thailand, Kenya, Turkey, Indonesia and Argentina.
The participants stressed that the festival is an excellent opportunity for cultural exchanges and to introduce their products and tourism potential to the diversified audience in Qatar.
The Vietnamese ambassador Nguyen Hoang explained that the embassy was keen to have a special place at the event as it would be an excellent opportunity for promoting his country culturally and introduce its great tourism capabilities to the various communities in Qatar.
"The embassy is displaying some unique features from the traditions of the Vietnamese people and their folklore, as Vietnam is among the top producers of coffee in the world," he explained.
Ibrahim Abdelal, from the Egyptian embassy's cultural office, said that the festival would greatly help in further promoting tourism in Egypt and also contribute towards cultural exchanges between people from various countries.
Abenzer from the Ethiopian embassy said the festival has been successful in enhancing cultural exchanges and introducing the distinctive cultures of the participating countries, creating more understanding among different people.
Philippe Jolicoeur, a coffee producer from Costa Rica, is visiting Qatar for the first time to take part in the festival and to display his brand's products.
"I think it is a very good market and people have a taste for quality products. There are good opportunities here to export coffee and may be open a specialised cafe," he said, hoping to establish a new business in the country.
Hendra Hatrono of Indonesia is displaying an expensive and special variety of coffee called Kopi Luwak, and hopes to introduce the concept to the region through the festival.
The festival features a traditional Arabic tent as a lounge for coffee drinking, where coffee is made in the traditional way on embers.
The festival is jointly organised by Qatar Heritage and Identity Centre under the patronage of HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.