Ethiopian coffee in Seattle and across Washington

Quick answer: where to find Ethiopian coffee in Seattle

For Ethiopian and East African coffee in the Seattle area, start with Boon Boona Coffee, which roasts in Renton and buys coffee only from Africa. It is not the only choice: 15 of the 18 Washington roasters we list had at least one Ethiopian coffee in their lineup when we checked on September 27, 2026, from Yirgacheffe to Guji. Wikipedia estimates that 25,000 to 40,000 Ethiopians live in Seattle, with many more in the wider metro area, and the coffee traditions came with them.

Why Ethiopia matters in coffee

Ethiopia lies within the native range of Coffea arabica, which grows wild in the highlands of southern Ethiopia, South Sudan and northern Kenya. Wikipedia's article on coffee production in Ethiopia says the plant originated in the Kaffa region and that about 5.9 million Ethiopian farmers grow coffee today. The story of Kaldi, the goat herder who noticed his flock's energy after eating coffee, is a legend; it did not appear in writing until 1671.

Ethiopian coffees are often sold under regional names such as Harar, Yirgacheffe, Limu, Jimma and Kaffa. Wikipedia notes that these regional names are trademarks owned by Ethiopia, and that the Sidama region is very likely where coffee first grew.

The coffee ceremony

The coffee ceremony practiced in Ethiopia and Eritrea is, by Wikipedia's account, a daily routine for getting together with relatives, neighbors and visitors. Green beans are roasted over an open flame in a pan, and the smell of the roast is shared with the guests. The beans are ground in a wooden mortar and pestle, brewed in a jebena, a clay pot with a round base and a spout, and poured from a height into small cups without handles. The same grounds are brewed three times. In Amharic the rounds are called abol, tona and baraka; in Tigrinya, awel, kale'i and baraka, which means "to be blessed."

Wikipedia's Coffee in Seattle article notes that several of the city's Ethiopian restaurants carry the tradition forward, some roasting their own coffee.

Boon Boona: an all-African roastery in Renton

Boon Boona's founder and CEO, Efrem Fesaha, grew up in Seattle in an Eritrean family that held the coffee ceremony at home. After a trip to Asmara, Eritrea, he set out to bring that slower, gathering style of coffee to Seattle. He started in 2012 by sourcing and distributing Ethiopian green coffee, began selling roasted Ethiopian and Rwandan coffee in 2016, and in 2019 opened a shop in downtown Renton that is both roastery and cafe.

Boon Boona buys only from Africa, working with producers, cooperatives, exporters and importers in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and other countries, and says it gives priority to women-owned growers. It explains that many East African farms are very small, sometimes only a few trees, which is why cooperatives matter: they let smallholders process coffee more efficiently and get better prices.

• Its blends include the Jebena Blend, named for the ceremony's clay pot, and the Bereka Blend, with Meddah as its espresso.
• Its single origins, when we checked, came from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and its decaf is an Ethiopian Sidamo.
• It sells green Ethiopian Sidamo and Yirgacheffe for home roasters, if you want to try the pan roast yourself.
• Besides Renton, it runs cafes on Capitol Hill at 12th and Cherry, inside the University Book Store and on Microsoft's East Redmond campus.

Ethiopian coffees from other Washington roasters

Roasters change their lineups with the harvest, so this is a snapshot of what each roaster's own product list showed on September 27, 2026.

With Boon Boona, that makes 15. Several of these are labeled natural or washed, which names how the coffee was processed after picking; see washed process coffee and the natural process entry. Dillanos, in the table above, announced a merger in November 2024 with Dancing Goats Coffee, which Kaldi's Coffee of St. Louis had bought in 2023.

Kenya is the other East African origin that shows up often: eight of the 18 roasters listed a Kenyan coffee. Olympia Coffee began direct trade work in Burundi and Kenya in 2013. Kuma, by contrast, says Ethiopia is the one core origin it does not buy direct, because traceability there is hard to establish.

Ethiopian coffee in Seattle: questions

Is there a Seattle roaster that sells only African coffee?

Yes. Boon Boona Coffee, which roasts in Renton, buys coffee only from Africa and runs cafes on Capitol Hill, in the University Book Store and on Microsoft's East Redmond campus.

What is a jebena?

A traditional clay coffee pot used in the Ethiopian and Eritrean coffee ceremony, with a round base, a neck and pouring spout and a handle. Boon Boona names its Jebena Blend after it.

Where did coffee originate?

In Ethiopia. Wikipedia says the coffee plant originates in the Kaffa region, and that the Sidama region is very likely where coffee first grew.

East African coffee, roasted here

A listing does not mean a roaster is part of the club. Palouse Coffee Club sends a 12 oz bag from a different independent Washington roaster each box, every 2 or 4 weeks. For coffee from one farm or region, pick single origin in the plan builder; see the single origin plan. $16.99 a bag; first bag free, you pay $7.99 shipping. Skip or cancel anytime. Build your box, or read how Washington roasters buy their coffee.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Coffee production in Ethiopia (native range of arabica; Kaffa origin; Kaldi legend written 1671; 5.9 million farmers; trademarked regional names; Sidama)
• Wikipedia, Coffee ceremony of Ethiopia and Eritrea (daily gathering; pan roasting; mortar and pestle; jebena; three rounds and their names)
• Wikipedia, Ethiopian Americans (25,000 to 40,000 Ethiopians in Seattle)
• Wikipedia, Coffee in Seattle (Ethiopian restaurants that keep the tradition, some roasting their own)
• Boon Boona's founder, history, sourcing, blends, single origins, green coffee and cafes; every roaster's Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees; Olympia's and Kuma's sourcing; Dillanos's merger announcement: the roasters' own pages and product lists as recorded on our roaster profiles, checked 2026-09-27.