A new Putney coffee shop opened this week with an unusual origin story: its owners met in Ethiopia when one was a 19-year-old gap year volunteer and the other was translating his English lessons.
Tampopo Coffee opened on Wednesday at 161 Lower Richmond Road, bringing specialty Ethiopian-Brazilian blends and plans for traditional coffee ceremonies to the area.
Mike and Lideya, who married in 2011 and have a two-year-old daughter, say the shop is not just a business venture but a stepping stone toward their real goal: funding social enterprise work with children in need.
Their path to Putney traces back to their first meeting. Mike was volunteering at an after-school programme in a deprived area of Ethiopia when his cousin’s friend asked Lideya to translate his lessons. She stuck with him.
“That experience gave us a lot,” Lideya said. “It was eye-opening to see how it felt being poor. One of the things I always said when I decided to come to the UK was that I must go back and do something with children.”
The couple chose Putney after Mike’s father, who works near Putney Bridge and cycles along Lower Richmond Road, kept reporting back on the neighbourhood’s community feel.
Lideya brings professional credentials to the operation. She holds a diploma from the Specialty Coffee Association covering roasting, barista skills, sensory analysis and cupping. The shop serves beans from Origin Coffee Lab, including a house blend of Ethiopian and Brazilian coffee and rotating single origins. (We had a cup. It was delicious.)
But it is the planned Ethiopian coffee ceremonies that set Tampopo apart.
In Ethiopia, the coffee ceremony is a daily ritual that can last an hour or more. Green beans are washed, roasted on a stove, ground by hand, and brewed while guests talk and relax. Traditionally, the coffee is served three times.
“We wanted the slow coffee feel and pour-overs,” Mike said. “Not a mad rush or just takeaway. We wanted to be part of the community, offer a space to come and relax.”
The couple are still working out the details but hope to offer the ceremonies for groups who book the back room, perhaps on Mondays when the shop closes at 3pm. The space could also host reading groups, mothers’ groups or other community gatherings.
“After COVID, there’s a lot of people who didn’t see anyone, sometimes for days,” Lideya said. “We thought if we open a coffee shop with one dedicated place to make coffee, people can actually come out from the house and just have a chat.”
A garden at the rear should open by the summer and a carpenter friend has built custom features including doors, a central beam and a shelf for the espresso machine.
Tampopo Coffee is open 7am to 3pm. The shop is on Instagram at @tampopo_coffee.
