Saudi-Born A/N Tea Opens Quiet New Outpost in Cairo's Zamalek

CairoScene

2 days ago

Saudi-Born A/N Tea Opens Quiet New Outpost in Cairo's Zamalek
After opening in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, A/N Tea has made its way to Zamalek, bringing a quietly curated tea menu and simple social ethos to a neighbourhood steeped in its own rhythms.
Tea is a relic that somehow never feels outdated and yet, in a world brimming with turmeric lattes and QR-coded cafés, the simple pleasure of a proper cup of tea often gets lost in the froth. Born in the city of Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to celebrate the enduring modesty of tea, A/N Tea is now steeping in a new setting—Zamalek. The tea-focused café opened its second location in the leafy Cairo neighbourhood just six months ago, marking a shift from the Gulf's eastern coastline to the Egyptian capital's island district.
Founded by friends Annas Yoseif and Abdullah, A/N Tea began with an offhand idea during one of many casual hangouts in tea shops. 'We were just always hanging around in tea shops. One day we thought, why don't we open our own?' Yoseif tells SceneEats. The first space opened in Khobar with a clear mission: keep it simple, keep it social.
That same approach has travelled to Zamalek. The café serves only tea and sandwiches—no trending add-ons, no bubble tea, no matcha foams. Instead, A/N Tea's menu draws from familiar blends like mint, habak, and karak, and includes regional favourites such as maramiya, a Taif-native sage leaf. 'We built our menu around the belief that tea should be drunk as it is,' Yoseif says.
The café's Cairo location reflects its low-frills philosophy. Housed in a minimal yet warm space, A/N Tea in Zamalek aims to create room for conversation rather than spectacle. 'The main vision was to create a place that resembles a sort of common ground,' Yoseif explains. 'A place where people from different backgrounds can come and bond over the shared comfort of a good tea. We wanted to create a warm space for everyone. Our branch in Egypt echoes the way people live here - it's so beautiful, everyone appreciates simplicity.'
What defines A/N Tea, beyond its limited menu, is its focus on precision. 'We steam the tea leaves so all the flavour comes directly from them,' Yoseif says. 'You'll taste the best tea of your life.'
By moving from Khobar to Cairo, A/N Tea hasn't reinvented itself—it has simply planted its model in a new kind of city rhythm. In Zamalek, where quiet conversations and slow days still have a place, its arrival feels less like a disruption and more like a natural pause.