Zedamo Coffee & Tea

Zedamo Coffee & Tea in Tucson, AZ is one of the most distinctive spots on the menu of Tucson coffee culture. It sits on Broadway Boulevard and carries the weight of a real story.
The shop is named after Sidamo (a province in Ethiopia widely considered one of the great origins in all of coffee). The founder, Amanuel Gebremariam, is an Ethiopian refugee and longtime Tucson restaurateur who built this place as a tribute to that heritage. And he did not do it alone. Zedamo is part of Z-Street, a stretch of Broadway that the Gebremariam family helped transform into a hub for East African culture. Right next door is Zemam's, which happens to be Tucson's first African restaurant. This is a coffee shop and a cultural project.

Walk in and you feel it immediately. The space is calm and airy with art on the walls and cushioned chairs that actually invite you to sit down and stay. The whole experience feels elevated in a way that does not feel forced or designed by committee.

Savaya Coffee Market roasts the beans. This is one of the more respected roasters in Tucson that I also reviewed on this site. Shots are pulled on a Nuova Simonelli machine. The foundation is solid.

Here is the thing about expectations. When a shop is built around the birthplace of coffee (rooted in Ethiopian heritage and stocked with Guji and Yirgacheffe beans) I walk in with a specific vision. The latte I ordered used a blend called "Jinger Songwriter" and while it was a perfectly competent drink, it felt like the wrong answer to a fascinating question. The Guji is right there available as a pourover. The Yirgacheffe is there too. Both are origins I know well and both would have made for a far more compelling shot. If you come here as an espresso drinker, have a conversation first. Or just skip the espresso altogether and go for the slow bar. The soul of this place lives in the pour over. Go there first.

The standout for me was the Kyoto-style cold brew. Water dripping through the grounds drop by drop over 16 or more hours. The result is intensely bright, silky and clean without a trace of bitterness. Cold brew drinkers owe it to themselves to try this. I also want to note that I technically should have tried the Turkish coffee and the iced cardamom latte as well. I had fully intended to. But I had already consumed enough caffeine that I was approximately vibrating. I will save that for the next visit.

Zedamo exists because a person cared enough to build something meaningful. It stays true to its own story. It is a love letter to a heritage written in coffee. You can find a good latte on many corners of Tucson. You will not find another Zedamo. This shop is rare. Go there and let them take you somewhere.