Galani Coffee

Ethiopian coffee, roasted where it grows

Coffee from Ethiopia, roasted in Ethiopia and brewed in Ethiopia, is the whole argument at Galani. The roastery works with the country's own harvest and serves it in a contemporary café format, which in the birthplace of coffee is less obvious than it sounds: much of the best Ethiopian crop leaves the country green. Galani keeps it at home and puts it on its own bar.

The operation has grown across the city, with branches at Jackross, Lebu, Churchill, Seba Dereja and Entoto Park. Alongside the cafés it runs barista training and coffee tastings and sells machines and supplies, which makes it a teaching arm of the Addis Ababa specialty scene as much as a place to drink. Anyone learning to brew at home can buy the equipment in the same room as the coffee.

A café with a cultural floor above

The café is tied to culture as much as to caffeine. A space for Ethiopian art, crafts and events sits above the room, so the building carries a broader rhythm than a quick espresso stop: coffee below, exhibitions and gatherings upstairs, and a crowd that moves between the two.

The name carries the same layered idea. Galani means blue in Greek and ocean in Oromifa, and the little donkey in the branding stands for stubborn, resilient, hardworking character. The design is modern rather than traditional, which is the point: a heritage product presented in contemporary surroundings. The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops ranked Galani 50th in 2025, which put an Addis Ababa roastery on a list dominated by Europe and Asia.

What to expect at the counter

Expect Ethiopian coffee rather than a list of named signature drinks. The strength of the bar is in the beans and the roasting, so the most useful question is which coffees are on that day and how the barista would rather brew them. Filter and espresso both make sense here, and the staff are trained well enough to have an opinion worth following.

Food is simple and plays a supporting role, with flavours that draw on Ethiopia and the Levant rather than a long café menu. Come for the coffee, stay for whatever is on upstairs, and treat the food as something to keep you at the table rather than the reason for the visit.