Inflation hits Dubai's karak tea, a beloved national staple

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — From Mustafa Moeen’s spot behind the counter, he sees the many faces of Dubai. They come — tired, hungry, stressed out — for a respite and a cup of karak.

Laborers stop on the way to work. Cab drivers linger after long shifts. Emiratis cruise by on midnight joyrides. A cup of milky sweet tea to ease the burden of the day, customers say, long priced at just 1 dirham, a bit less than 30 U.S. cents.

But now, as supply chain shortages and Russia’s war on Ukraine lead to price spikes on everything from breakfast sandwiches in Manhattan to chicken tinga in Mexico, Dubai tea sellers are bumping up prices of what's informally considered the national drink of the United Arab Emirates. Moeen says he had no choice but to raise the price to 1.50 dirhams, or just over 40 cents.

“Everything got more expensive for us — milk, sugar, tea bags. Even the price of cups doubled,” Moeen said from the one-room storefront in Satwa, a neighborhood bustling with South Asian workers on rickety bicycles that can feel a world away from Dubai's flashy skyscrapers. “We also have to survive.”

For nearly two decades, karak — an elixir of sugar, dehydrated milk and cardamom-infused tea — has largely been the same price, just one nickel-plated steel dirham coin. A dirham is worth 100 fils.

“It’s not about the 50 fils. They are making small, small changes,” said Zeeshan Razak, an accountant from Kerala, India, sipping tea with his colleague. “We are concerned about what it means.”

It was one of the rare treats that a dirham could buy in Dubai, which draws both the world's richest people and legions of low-paid migrant workers.

“It's part of its brand that it costs 1 dirham,” said Abdulla Moaswes, a Palestinian karak aficionado raised in the UAE who's known for his...