Sufra Time
Friday nights in the dining room
A Friday dinner and storytelling series at Mocha Box Coffeehouse in Asheville. Current upcoming dates feature The Birth of Coffee. You eat, you listen, you ask questions, and you talk with the people around you.
Doors at 6:00, done by 8:30. Your $95 ticket covers dinner, qishr, a drink, a pastry, and the evening itself.
This Friday's Topic
The Birth of Coffee
Friday, August 28, 2026
6:00 to 8:30 PM · $95 per guest
What your ticket includes
Your $95 ticket covers the full 2½ hour evening
01
The evening's story, shared around the room
It unfolds while you eat, with room to ask questions, talk, and take part.
02
Sufra Time Plate
Falafel, hummus, pita bread, fries.
03
Qishr
A traditional Yemeni drink made from dried coffee husks and warm spices, made specifically for Sufra Time.
04
Beverage of your choice
Mocha Box's exclusive Yemeni coffee or a decaf refresher.
05
Pastry of your choice from our pastry case
06
Live music as you arrive
Music is playing when you walk in, part of the welcome to the table.
Tax is added at checkout. A keepsake passport is optional, $6 plus tax. Tell us about allergies after you buy and the kitchen will work around them.
How the evening works
What actually happens
Two and a half hours in the dining room, about as relaxed as a dinner with people you may not have met yet can be.
Step 1
You arrive to live music
Music is playing when you walk in. Find a seat wherever you like in the dining room and get settled. Plenty of people come on their own.
Step 2
Food comes out
Your plate, your qishr, your drink, and a pastry from the case. Nobody is waiting on a buffet line.
Step 3
The story unfolds
The night's story comes out in pieces while you eat, with objects, questions, and a few things you probably have not heard before.
Step 4
You join in as much as you want
There are moments to guess, notice something, or ask about it. Talking is welcome, sitting back is fine, and no prior knowledge is needed.
Next up
The Birth of Coffee
How coffee started in Yemen, told over dinner at Mocha Box.
Friday, August 28, 2026 · 6:00 to 8:30 PM · Mocha Box Coffeehouse, Asheville · $95 per guest
Season One
Eight stories in Season One
Season One is built around eight stories from Yemen and the Arabian world. Right now, all upcoming Sufra Time dates feature The Birth of Coffee. The other stories remain part of Season One and may return as future evenings.
01
The Birth of Coffee
02
The Incense Road
03
The Queen of Sheba
04
The Influence of Arabian Food
05
Amazing Arabian Architecture
06
Arabian Tribal Culture
07
Desert Living & Geology
08
The Enchanted Island of Socotra
Join the waitlist to hear when other Sufra Time stories are scheduled again.
Keepsake
The Passport
A small keepsake passport you can add at checkout for $6 plus tax. Bring it each Friday and it gets a stamp for that evening.
Come to one evening or collect all eight. Either way works.
Dining With A Purpose
Supporting The Last Mile
People in Yemen are living through a devastating humanitarian crisis. A portion of what Sufra Time takes in will support The Last Mile.
The Last Mile is a new nonprofit initiative being created to help Yemeni individuals and families with verified needs connect with trusted resources when help is not reaching them.
The meaning of sufra
What does Sufra mean?
In Arabic, sufra is the table or spread laid out for a meal. For Sufra Time, it also speaks to what happens around that table: sitting down, eating, talking, and spending time together.
Every culture has its own version of that feeling. Sweet tea on the front porch. Coffee with loved ones that somehow lasts all day (Colombia, we’re looking at you). Sunday family dinners. A crowded table on a holiday.
Questions