Kenyan coffee is all the rage---if you can afford it

-
In May 2019, a young Kenyan journalist, Michael Onsando, wrote an article extolling the virtues of Kenyan coffee, while criticizing the Crop Amendment Bill of 2019, which proposes that all coffee grown in Kenya undergo processing, production, and purchasing locally instead of sending out the raw beans for external processing and marketing. (As it turns out this idea has proven untenable, as lots of coffee has sat in storage awaiting the next step and has rotted. Idealism should never outweigh profits.)

 He notes: "Here's the thing abut Kenyan Coffee. It's expensive." Onsando explains that the Arabica that predominates in Kenya is very "pure." 

 Kenyan coffee has a deep, bold flavor profile, with a wine-like acidity and has been a popular go-to option for coffee aficionados for a long time. One favorite is Volcanic Kenyan Coffee AA, which goes for $20 a pound online. Kenyan AA denotes a type of bean. AA beans are the largest beans grown in Kenya, and they contain the largest amount of aromatic oils. 

 African coffee, in general, is good, and tends to be more expensive than beans from other regions, with some exceptions. Africa's climate produces amazing coffee, but makes mass production difficult. In fact, Africa's coffee market share has declined over the last several decades. In 1975, 4 of the top 10 coffee-providing countries were in Africa, but global competition knocked the continent's market share down to 12% as of 2020. 

 While the coffee industry in Kenya continues to debate the benefits of various marketing strategies, the hipster cafe scene in Nairobi has exploded. There are hundreds of cafes throughout Naroibi, ranging from super-expensive, indy places with very high-end espresso-based concoctions to go with your vegan meal (a good example is Wasp & Spout), to more mass-market drop-in-and-take-out options. Some of the most popular cafes include Artcaffee, Java House, and Urban Grind Coffee & Grill. 

 Apparently, the coffee house scene in Nairobi is bustling, with a lot of beautiful people, artists, and writers mingling with business people, celebrities, and tourists, including lots of young families. 

 There are some Kenyan coffee fans right here in NJ. For example, long-time coffee connoisseur, Wayne Foti, calls Kenyan coffee, "awesome and delicious," while editor, John Lee, says, "The floral notes of Kenyan coffee make them ideal for enjoying on a Sunday morning with an alfresco brunch. It's awesome coffee."  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coffee Prices Explode & Global Coffee Gratitude

-
Image
At the end of the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of how grateful I am for coffee. Not only for its rich, soothing, energizing effects---but also because of its health benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. I am also grateful that increasingly the medical evidence is documenting these benefits with amazing contributions from European and American universities! I am also grateful that most of the coffee-drinkers I know can still afford to drink coffee and enjoy its benefits. That is not insignificant, especially when you consider that coffee prices are at an all-time high for the past 13 years. In fact, coffee futures have increased 44%. According to pundits, a constellation of factors are contributing to coffee's sky-high prices, including bad weather in South America and low stockpiles in the United States. But, there's something else: Increasing demand from coffee drinkers in emerging economies. The largest increase i
Read more

Happiness Is…Buying a New Coffee Maker & Getting a Refund for the Old One

-
Image
About a week ago, the unthinkable happened. One mid-August morning, my Barista Aroma TM 8-cup coffeemaker broke. It became essentially unusable. My first reaction was denial. The large rubber lip of the thermal carafe had become completely unhinged. I tried to meld it back together, but this coffee maker was almost 4 years old. Indeed, if ever there was ‘planned obsolescence’ this was it---because it was definitely NOT abuse. Over the years, I have loved that coffeemaker. On some cold winter mornings, I would practically coo at it as it competently brewed my coffee. I loved many of its features. It’s black and silver sleekness, the gold mesh flat filter, the fact that I could yank the carafe away from the case before it finished brewing in order to pour myself half a cup. I loved the shushing sound it made as it brewed, the strategically placed water canister, and the digital read-out. Ours was a warm respectable relationship informed by my primal addiction to coffee.
Read more

Who is Juan Valdez and why I drink instant coffee

-
Image
Instant coffee gets a bad rap. But like it or not, instant coffee---a freeze-dried, powdered concentrated form of coffee--- is coffee. And like other types of coffee, it is full of antioxidants. The obvious downside for many people, however, is that instant coffee has a different flavor profile than traditionally brewed coffee. But that does not mean that it can’t be good. In fact, there are now second- and third-generation instant coffees that have gained a following.  However, this post is NOT about the most au courant instant coffees. This post is about an old-school, first-generation instant coffee. Specifically, Juan Valdez Café instant coffee (which I recently received as a gift from good friends). The Juan Valdez Café brand represents coffee produced by Colombian Coffee Farmers---500,000 strong, who are devoted to continuing a coffee-growing tradition that many say produces the best coffee in the world. Amazon reviewers tend to rate Juan Valdez Café coffee with 4.5 to 5 stars (
Read more