Upper Cup Coffee
Taking a break from food this week to focus on one of Hannah’s favorite morning beverages: coffee! One morning after breakfast, we were craving a pick-me-up and decided to visit Upper Cup in Gahanna. We often make coffee at home, but we had heard great things about Upper Cup and wanted to try it.
Upper Cup opened its first location in 2011, just a year after it started roasting and wholesaling coffee beans. When they opened their café doors in Old Town East, they used to roast the coffee beans on-site, creating a delightful aroma that added to the welcoming atmosphere they aimed to establish.
The Habte family, who moved from East Africa in the 1980s, finally had the opportunity to share their love of handcrafted coffee with the community. In 2016, the Gahanna location opened, and they recently relocated the roasting process to a new spot to focus on wholesaling their coffee beans.
The Gahanna location had a light and airy ambiance, with plants adorning the wall of windows. The art on the walls was painted on coffee bean bags, and coins were creatively used as decorations. We perused the menu and each chose our dose of caffeine — I went for the Iced Mocha, while Hannah chose her favorite, a Dirty Iced Chai. After delighting in a few sips of our drinks, we found seats at the counter by the windows and took in the greenery.
One of the highlights of the coffee shop was the opportunity to purchase their coffee beans in bags. Each bag included information about the farm where the beans were sourced and details about the roast. Despite significant growth, this small business seems to maintain its commitment to quality, transparency, and community.
