Kenya’s growing taste for specialty coffee seen spurring output
Kenyan butcher David Mwangi prefers to start his day with a mocha or cappuccino from a newly built coffee shop in his neighbourhood, the first of its kind in an agricultural village where most people start the day with a sweet, milky cup of tea.
“Coffee aids in the awakening of my intellect. It has a pleasant flavour “While enjoying the beverage at a Kilele Coffee Company branch in Karatina village, roughly 120 kilometres from Nairobi’s capital, the 27-year-old stated.
Joshua Kariuki, who came home to Nyeri town last year after 15 years as an aid worker, notably in South Sudan, launched the modest coffee company, which now has six locations in central Kenya.
Kilele relies on local farmers for raw coffee supply, therefore he thinks it will bring profit and value for them.
“At the local level, we aim to have a coffee drinking culture,” Kariuki stated.
According to Matthew Harrison, an Amsterdam-based buyer at speciality coffee sourcing company Trabocca, a burgeoning domestic market might nourish a new generation of farmers in a struggling industry.
Due to inadequate management, worldwide price swings, and climate change, Kenya’s coffee production peaked at 129,000 tonnes three decades ago, but has since decreased to roughly 40,000 tonnes.
Although the East African country now only produces 1% of the global crop, roasters seek out its high-quality arabica beans for mixing with other varietals.
