Renton Coffee Shop Blends Craft Brews With Ethiopian 'Ritual'

Neal McNamara

RENTON, WA - At a new craft coffee shop in downtown Renton, you can get usual Americano or drip coffee and be on your way — or you can stick around a little longer to experience the Ethiopian coffee ritual.

Boona Boona opened Jan. 7 (Christmas Day on the Julian calendar used in Ethiopia) along South Third Street. The owner, Efram Fesaha, grew up in dueling coffee cultures: experiencing Seattle's hip third-wave coffee shops (think Stumptown, Caffe Vita, Victrola) along with his mother's Ethiopian coffee style.

There are plenty of craft coffee shops around, and as many Ethiopian shops (Kaffa Coffee, Cafe Avole) — but Boona Boona is likely the first to combine the two.

Fesaha, who grew up in West Seattle, began his venture into the coffee world several years ago. He noticed his mother was having trouble sourcing good green coffee beans. He was working in finance at the time, but started contacting Ethiopian coffee bean growers to see if he could get better product for his mother. He's been importing green coffee ever since.

"We started putting green coffee [in stores] in SeaTac, Tukwila, Seattle," he said. "People really enjoyed the consistency."

But it wasn't until about a year ago, while working at Amazon, that Fesaha realized he wanted to open his own shop. He picked Renton because he wanted to serve south King County, a region that, except for Burien and White Center, has been skipped over by the craft coffee movement.

He grew up coming to Renton, his father a longtime Boeing employee, his uncle the owner of a mechanic shop along Sunset Boulevard.

On a recent morning, Boona Boona was packed with coffee drinkers. Morning sunlight poured through the windows, glinting off the big stainless steel bean roaster in the corner. Baristas were busy manning the espresso machine and scooping Macrina pastries out of a display case.

In one corner of the big open shop, Fesaha has a counter specifically for the Ethiopian coffee ritual. Right now, he holds the approximately 30-minute coffee rituals on Saturday and Sunday beginning at noon.

The inside of Boona Boona, looking southeast toward 3rd Street and Williams Avenue.
The inside of Boona Boona, looking southeast toward 3rd Street and Williams Avenue.


Fesaha in the midst of the Ethiopian coffee ritual. The clay jebena pot used to cook the coffee and water can be seen at bottom right.
Fesaha in the midst of the Ethiopian coffee ritual. The clay jebena pot used to cook the coffee and water can be seen at bottom right.
Fesaha pouring out the final product.
Fesaha pouring out the final product.

A handful of spectators watched Fesaha heat a pan full of green coffee beans over a small gas burner. When the beans turned dark brown and popcorn-scented smoke rose from the pan, he asked spectators to waft the aroma. He then ground the beans to an espresso-like consistency. He poured the grounds into a jebena, a clay pot used to heat the coffee with boiling water.

As he made the coffee, Fesaha chatted with his customers, talking about life, business, and coffee. That's the point of the ritual: to draw out the coffee-making process so you can have a conversation.

After about 20 minutes of cooking, Fesaha slowly poured the brew into small coffee cups. He confessed he's a little new to making coffee in the Ethiopian style, having relied on his mother over the years. But you wouldn't know it by the taste of the coffee. It was dark and toasty, not too bitter, and with an almost instant caffeine hit.

In other words, the coffee is worth the wait.

Boona Boona Coffee
724 South 3rd St., Renton
7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Ethiopian coffee ritual: Saturday, Sunday noon - 3 p.m
www.boonaboonacoffee.com

Photos by Neal McNamara/Patch