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The first thing you notice when you walk into Mohka House in Oakland is the smell — cardamom, cinnamon, and fresh coffee. Glistening in a display case near the register, sit decadent slices of honeycomb bread and sabaya, traditional Yemeni sweets.
The place is often bustling with all types of people: students working on laptops, families drifting in and out, and friends catching up. Along one wall, customers lounge on floor cushions in a traditional Yemeni maglis-style seating area. It’s not a rare occurrence for every seat in the cafe to be occupied…