Growing up around coffee in Ethiopia made Nebyu B. Habteyes a lover of it long before he became a coffee shop owner. Coffee, he says, is part of his existence.
Habteyes grew up in southern Ethiopia around Sidama, Yirgacheffe and Guji, regions known for growing coffee. He remembers seeing people pick the coffee cherries when the fruit turned from green to red, signaling they were ripe. At home, his mother made coffee twice a day for the family.
Unlike the American experience, where coffee is often associated with the morning rush and a quick boost of energy, Habteyes remembers coffee as part of family life and conversations about religion, politics and life lessons.
“Your parents would make coffee,” Habteyes said. “We would have it throughout the day as we talked about life overall.”
When Habteyes came to the United States in 1996, he kept coffee in his heart. Years later, the search for a cup he couldn’t find would spark his new coffee business.
The idea began after a church celebration, when Habteyes and his wife had friends visiting from other cities for lunch at their home. Wanting coffee afterward, Habteyes left home in search of a cup.
“I drove and drove, and there was no coffee spots close,” Habteyes recalled.
That cup of coffee he couldn’t find stayed with him. After telling his visiting friends about the unsuccessful search, Habteyes learned that some of them had started a coffee business in Indiana. He traveled to learn the business from them.
His wife was shocked.
Habteyes previously had owned a convenience store, so a specialty coffee shop was a totally new and different endeavor. Still, he was determined to turn what he described as a lifelong “dream, vision, and fire inside” of him into reality.
He opened the first St. Louis-area Revocup Coffee in Maryland Heights in 2019. Revocup was already an established coffee brand, founded in the Kansas City area by Ethiopian natives Habte and TG Mesfin.
Within about a year, Revocup was almost no more. The COVID-19 shutdown nearly took down the young business.
“This was our greatest challenge,” Habteyes said.
The shop survived. In 2023, Habteyes moved it to its current location at 9200 Olive Blvd. in Olivette, near Interstate 170.
University City real estate investor Claude Bennett is now among the regulars. He can be found at Revocup having business meetings or, on a Sunday morning, leisurely enjoying an egg sandwich with his wife.
“I love the consistency of service, quality of coffee and the location, which is great,” Bennett said.
Coming from Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, Habteyes has brought some of that country’s flavor to Revocup. When you step into Revocup, you feel that vibe — from the Ethiopian coffee to music reflecting the motherland and its diaspora, including reggae and neo-soul.
About 90% of the coffee served at Revocup comes from Ethiopia, according to Habteyes. The coffee can be rich and creamy, with a robust kick.
The shop also offers pastries, smoothies and salads along with build-your-own egg and omelet sandwiches.
Cleaning company owner Caleb Dawitt also comes for more than what’s in his cup.
“It’s very conducive to community — great location, great coffee and often great music,” Dawitt said.
Revocup has become a meeting place and a spot for good coffee, much like the gatherings Habteyes remembers growing up in Ethiopia.