Kenya's Coffee Scene

Last week I was in Kenya, loving all the animals around in Masai Mara. It was a wonderful trip. Keeping the topic of this newsletter in mind, let me give you all the coffee details.

I didn't want to carry my coffee kit (Aeropress and a grinder) to this trip as Kenya, and the whole Africa, is known for producing and exporting a lot of coffee. But I didn't want to take any chances, so I did. Ended up using it twice, so that was good in the end.

At the place we stayed, they had instant coffee, which was no different than the ones we get here. So skipped that and made my own.

Brewed Coffee in a Forest

After a couple of days of not finding good coffee and making my own, I was surprised to find at a place that I least expected.

We finished a hot air balloon ride, landed in the middle of a forest where our jeeps picked us up and took for a place to have breakfast. As we walked to our tables, I saw one french press per table and I was happy.

I had a chat with the waiters there. I explained this term French Press to them. They said they would happily keep calling it "coffee maker". 😂

In that forest…

Drinking that freshly brewed coffee, even if it was a espresso ground dark roast, was reviving.

Coffee Scene

I haven't spent time in Kenya for long. All the days were at the forest in Masai Mara. But while going there from Airport and coming back, we stopped at cafes and gas stations (which surprising had good coffee shops).

There were very few places with manual brews like pour over and Aeropress. But they did use speciality coffee at some places. The espressos were fantastic. I haven't finished an espresso that fast. That too at a coffee shop in a gas station.

Gas Station Coffee

I later learnt that all the good, high-grade coffee is exported out of Kenya. Only the average coffee is the one that remains. Kenya, known for its high-grade Arabica, is one of the biggest exporters of coffee. Obviously, after Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is where coffee was first discovered. Even though it's near Kenya, coffee didn't arrive directly. It took centuries. French missionaries brought coffee seeds into Kenya, later British colonists controlled the whole coffee production until the 1930s when Kenyans were allowed to grow coffee on their lands.

Today, Kenya produces and trades a lot of coffee.

Our guide told us about Nairobi Coffee Exchange, the hub of coffee trading. It seems all coffee offered at the exchange must meet specific quality standards, ensuring that only the finest beans reach the market. This even influences the price of the coffee globally.

That’s my excerpt from Kenya.

Have a caffeinated weekend.

See you. Keep brewing! ☕️