Somali Coffee Traditions Find a Home in Columbus, Ohio

Originally from Somalia, Abdullah and Hodan Ismail are bringing the coffee traditions they grew up with to a quaint Columbus suburb.

BY DANIEL MURAGA
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Photos courtesy of East African Coffee House

In November of 2025, Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, famously declared his city the “Coffee Capital of America.” During this time, a number of Yemeni coffeehouses were flourishing in the city, slightly tipping the scales from Ethiopia to Yemen as the place where coffee was first brewed. Qahwah House, Haraz Coffee House, and Qamaria Coffee, which currently operate a combined 121 stores in 14 states, are among the cafés that reflected (and still do) the rich Yemeni culture present in the city.

While residing in Dearborn, a couple originally from Somalia—Abdullah and Hodan Ismail—were taking notes. This eventually led to the opening of East African Coffee House in Gahanna, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, where the two now reside. Located at 4359 Morse Rd., the coffeehouse softly opened in June of 2025 and held their official grand opening the following month.

Just as many Michigan-based coffeehouses popularized Yemeni coffee, the entrepreneurs hoped to replicate the same but for their traditional Somali flavors and tastes. “We have such a beautiful culture—a lot of amazing flavors, and we kind of just wanted to showcase our region of the world,” Hodan told Columbus Underground.

Choosing a location

When choosing the 1,200-square-foot space at the Cherry Bottom Center retail strip, the founders wanted a location that was not only near a large Eastern African population in the Northland area but also accessible to local suburban coffee drinkers seeking an exotic coffee and pastry experience. It also happened that Hodan was in the loop because she was originally from Columbus and knew there were many people from Somalia who would be nostalgic for a Somali-themed coffeehouse. 

“We want to showcase what we can do,” says Abdullah. “We want this to be an inviting place for everyone to come to, not just people from East Africa.”  

Coffee in Somalia—some background

Many people, especially in the West, associate Somalia with sea pirates. Others think of a lack of a working centralized government and clan wars. Still others think of terrorist cells, abject poverty, and widespread disregard of human rights. However, despite having a semi-arid climate largely ill-suited for agriculture, the country is showing signs of economic growth.   

Luckily, the country is neighbors with Ethiopia and Kenya, which are some of the popular coffee giants in Africa. This shields the fact that Somalia produces localized and limited coffee. Small-scale semi-wild coffee farming exists in the jagged Al-Madow and Cal Madow mountain ranges in northern areas such as Puntland and Sanag. Farmers in regions such as Lasqoray and Dadan are overcoming severe infrastructure hurdles by using donkeys along dangerously steep mountain trails to transport coffee to markets such as Bossaso.  

Fortunately, Somalia is healing after decades of tumult, and its cafés are stirring back to operation. This is because, despite a limited coffee-farming scene, the country imports high-quality coffee from its neighbors, Kenya and Ethiopia, who also help in reestablishing peace in this country in the Horn of Africa.

“Walk into a Mogadishu café, or one in Hargeisa, Kismayo, Baidoa, Jowhar, Dhuusamareeb or Garowe, and you can expect to find a microcosm of modern Somalia – students huddled over textbooks, entrepreneurs pitching ideas, diaspora returnees reconnecting with local partners, and elders debating politics,” observes Nuri Aden, a journalist with TRT Afrika. 

Not producing coffee does not mean a lack of a steaming coffee culture. Somalia has a well-established native coffee tradition called Qaxwo (or Qahwah) that features spiced coffee poured as a social beverage and brewed with a mix of coffee, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. 

Showcasing East African traditions

Currently, East African Coffee House’s offerings revolve around single-origin coffee sourced from Ethiopia. However, they have a “lesser-known gem”: Somali Qahwah, brewed from coffee husks and offering a cup that’s not only sustainably and traditionally refined, but also a spiced infusion adored in Somali households for millennia. True to the Somali tradition, this drink is spiced with ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.

There is also Somali Shaah, a tea alternative brewed with the same spice tradition. “We’re just excited to showcase East African tradition and hospitality and culture beautifully,” says Abdullah. 

The café also offers espresso-based drinks, matcha, and refreshers, in addition to small dishes that include pastries, milk cakes, cheesecakes, and tiramisu. And looking ahead: The couple entertains plans to spread its wings to other states and into Canada. “If this does well, we definitely want to open more locations,” says Abdullah.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Daniel Muraga (he/him) is a communications expert, researcher, writer, and editor based in Kenya with over 10 years of experience in the industry. His mission is to highlight Africa’s contributions to the realms of science, technology, innovation, culture, food, and related fields. He has done extensive research and written widely in the coffee niche for Sprudge Media, as well as in related areas for Life & Thyme and CQ Researcher, among others. When not writing, he is always outdoors communing with nature. You can find him on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

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