I feel like we say this almost every week now, but there’s a new coffee shop in town – and a new Yemeni one at that – Shibam Coffee!
Shibam Coffee fills a storefront on the southeast corner of Sancus Boulevard and Lazelle Road, a little ways south of Polaris Parkway. (These address show up technically as Westerville.)
The corner space is beautifully decked out, with a long counter and a mix of two- and four-top tables spread throughout. There’s also a drive-through!
The cases are filled with a mix of sweet and savory goods, from cakes to cheesecake, bagel sandwiches to honeycomb pastries.
Like the other Yemeni coffee shops in town, Shibam’s menu features a mix of traditional Yemeni drinks and classic Italian espresso drinks. The Yemeni coffees can be served in single portions or a kettle for sharing.
I ordered a couple coffees and a slice of cake on my visit!
The Shibam coffee features light roast Yemeni coffee with quishr (spiced coffee husks), cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, and cream. They’ll ask if you want sugar, too. I usually add a little.
The drink is heavy on the ginger, earthy, and a little sweet.
The sweetness was made up by the rich and moist slice of pistachio milk cake I tried. Very good pairing. Although I noticed that they also have version of the cake flavored with Lotus cookies, aka Biscoff! Next time…
I also tasted the Shibam latte, with the same mix of spices as the Shibam coffee, but with espresso and foamed milk.
Everything is nicely branded, too. Like Qamaria Yemeni Coffee and Qahwah House, Shibam is a chain originating from eastern Michigan, so their operations are pretty smooth already.
Shibam Coffee is open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, then 7 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Shibam Coffee
8310 Sancus Blvd.
Westerville, OH 43081
(614) 505-1445
Web: shibamcoffee.com
FB: Shibam Coffee Columbus
IG: @shibam_coffee_columbus