On the back of each bag of coffee lining the wall at the Whittier Cafe is a message: “Our coffee isn’t just about the perfect cup — it’s about a connection to something deeper.”
It goes on to describe the shop’s commitment to sustainable farming, the coffee’s sourcing from Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, and finally declares the cafe’s mission, social justice.
Owner and operator Millete Birhanemaskel was born in Tigray, the northernmost state in Ethiopia, and moved to Colorado during her childhood.
“Where I come from is where coffee was first discovered,” she said.
But from 2000 to 2002, Tigray, near the border with Eritrea, was the site of military operations between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, a conflict that included the shelling of hospitals, schools and businesses, according to the nonprofit Human Rights Watch, leaving 2 million people seeking housing and assistance.
Birhanemaskel went back to Tigray in 2020 and 2021 to write about the conflict for Tigray Media House, a news organization. Locally, she’s now the president of the Tigray Community Center, which her father started decades ago after fleeing to Colorado. There, she and her team provide therapy for Tigrayan youth and host a camp that celebrates their culture. Each summer, their Ashenda Festival concludes with a gala that has attracted upward of 700 people.
The Whittier Cafe, 1710 E. 25th Ave. in Denver, is an extension of that same work, Birhanemaskel said. After opening in 2014, it didn’t take long for the place to become a hub for activism of all kinds. “A lot of progressive movements are launched here,” said Birhanemaskel.
“Coming from a family of activists, I actually wanted to get away from it,” she laughed. “Though the place ended up being a community center that also sells coffee. It’s a mission-driven thing. People are coming for coffee. But they’re coming for more than coffee.”
Inside the cafe, bright, elegant expressions of women pouring coffee are affixed to nearly every corner of the neat interior. Jebenas, the clay pots that have long been used in coffee ceremonies from across East Africa, are present on shelves, tables and windowsills. They come in all shapes and sizes. The bathroom wallpaper is a marvelous pastiche of reprinted protest signs that were left behind by different people and groups that have gathered there.
Each Sunday, Birhanemaskel personally hosts an East African Coffee Ceremony. Around 2 p.m., she lights incense and starts roasting fresh green beans from Ethiopia, actively shaking the coffee over an open flame for roughly ten minutes.
“The nice thing about a hand roast is it is not going to be even. It pulls out different flavors,” she said. Throughout the process, she’ll walk the fresh coffee around the cafe for people to smell. The bold aroma sticks to the back of the palate for hours after the event, a delightful reminder of the shared experience.
Once the Jebena has bubbled over three times, Birhanemaskel will pour the first of three rounds of absolute rocket fuel, which she offers up in small cups to everyone in the cafe and on the adjoining patio. A small snack of fresh popcorn is also presented, helping to temper the strength of the brew.
“There are a lot of things that feel religious, but they’re not,” she said of the presence of the number three in multiple aspects of the ceremony. “In Tigray, and that part of the world, religion and culture are so intertwined that they can be hard to differentiate.”
Birhanemaskel performs the ceremony — which is free and open to the public — with casual grace. She’s been a participant since childhood, and credits the daily ritual with being a binding force in family relations. “Our families tend to be more tight-knit because of it,” she said. Kids and the less caffeine-inclined are expected to be present, even if they are not partaking. “You would never be in your room during a coffee ceremony,” she continued.
