Kenya is one of the biggest names in premium coffee.
The country’s famous AA grade beans have found their way into grinders from Milan to Melbourne.
Coffee sustains around six million Kenyans, working on around 150,000 farms, around seventy percent of which are small-scale farms of just a few hectares. As with most African nations, farmers sell their crops at local washing stations, where they’re processed before being shipped overseas.
One of the biggest reasons that Kenyan coffee consumption isn't what it might be is that most Kenyans prefer tea. This fascination commenced in the 1800s, when the British first colonised the area. They brought with them black tea, which fast became the drink of choice for Kenyans.
With premium coffee having played such a significant role in the country’s development over the last hundred years, one would think that it would have had an accordingly significant impact on culture that’s developed over there.
You might think of Kenya as a hub of premium coffee, where you’ll get the world’s best product when it’s at its freshest. How could it be possible for a substandard cup of coffee to exist here?
Of course, farming brilliance doesn’t always map to domestic consumption, for a number of reasons. Firstly, creating a cup of coffee, and espresso in particular, requires expensive equipment that makes running a coffee shop prohibitively costly. Secondly, the premium end of the crop is beyond the price range of most Kenyans – who’d sooner have the income they receive from exporting their coffee. Thus, the domestic market has become saturated with instant coffee, created from varieties that place crop yield over flavour profile, using the smaller beans that don’t make the ‘AA’ grade.
Now, it would be easy for customers in export markets to feel a little bit guilty about this, but as we’ll see, the situation is changing. Being able to sell coffee for a higher price overseas provides Kenyans with more income with which to take up western-style café behaviour. Western buyers are increasingly able to discern the differences between Kenyan coffees and those of other nations, and value things like traceability. The price they’re willing to pay for the good stuff rises accordingly – which, naturally, is good for domestic coffee consumption in Kenya.
As per tradition, join us for a Friday morning Coffee. Refreshments will be for your own account.
Date: Friday, 16 November 2018
Time: From 07h00 to 07h30
Place: Brioche, 181 Main Rd, Walmer
Looking forward to seeing you there!
The native language of Kenya is Swahili, so logs in Swahili will be most welcome.