Vava first experienced coffee outside her home. Her parents received a coffee maker as a wedding present but nobody really used it. Kenyans do not have a coffee-drinking culture. Surprising or not, up to 90 per cent of Kenya’s coffee is exported. The little consumed locally is done mainly by the foreigners living in the country. Vava Coffee’s main markets, for instance, are the US and parts of Europe.

In the earlier days of Vava’s coffee journey, she opened a coffee shop in the CBD of Nairobi. To satisfy customer preferences they soon introduced sandwiches, then salads, “next thing I know, I am running a restaurant, not a coffee shop,” said Vava. Most coffee shops in the city make more of their income from food- not coffee. She eventually closed the cafe as it was deviating from her mission, in a direction she did not wish to take. Nonetheless, she acknowledges the role that contemporary coffeehouses have played in breeding a coffee culture: an opportunity for locals to appreciate their own high grade AA coffee.

THE COLONISATION OF COFFEE

Historically, and to present time, Kenya grows coffee for export. By the 1920s it was the country’s main export for the European market. Coffee evolved to be associated with and for foreigners, alongside other cash crops: cocoa, sugar, tobacco.

Post-colonial time, the cash crop trend continues. More land is getting utilised for these export crops over the food production essential to the locals. As we have discovered – coffee is not one of them. In fact, the locals, who had been displaced for their land during the colonial times, were not permitted to grow coffee until the 1950s.

In the case of Kenya, up to 70 per cent of the coffee is now grown by small-scale farmers and sold in auctions, as has been since the 1930s.

Decades later, Vava explains that producer countries are not yet stepping up enough to challenge the terms dictated by the consumer countries. Multi-National Corporations leave little room for the young entrepreneurs in coffee to contribute their innovative ideas.

BEFORE IT GETS TO YOUR CUP

Coffee graded as AA is owing to the large bean size. This is considered an indicator of quality, but the bean size is only one of the several factors to consider when grading coffee. As a social enterprise, and as is the industry culture now, Vava Coffee ensures to work very closely and ethically with the farmers. This starts with how the coffee is grown to the last stage before roasting known as cupping. This has become essential due to the struggle between the farmers choosing to give up coffee for other more profitable crops or give up the land to developers. Securing the quality begins with ensuring the farmers have the appropriate education and supplies to grow their coffee and make a livelihood from it.

Coffee-drinkers, admittedly I included, often do not have a clear picture of the processes coffee undergoes. In summary, the beans are grown under conducive condition and care; the farmer picks the cherries (coffee berries); the cherries are taken to a wet mill and pulped to remove the outer skin. They then undergo a fermentation process after which they are dried on the drying beds. The cherries are then taken to a dry mill where the husk is taken off and this is where the green coffee beans are collected.

The beans can be exported green. Other times they are first roasted then shipped.

CUPPING

Cupping is the stage where the coffee is evaluated to determine the quality before it is distributed in the market or exported. The likes of Vava evaluate and describe the aromas and flavours of the coffee.They check for the level of acidity, body and consistency. This is noted on a score sheet according to the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) standards. For it to be considered specialty it needs to score 80 per cent and above. Vava Coffee holds a standard of 84 per cent or higher. The other coffee is still used in the local market for lower priced coffee or for making blends.

The farmers are then offered a price for their coffee based on the score. Given the training the farmers receive, the coffee almost always scores 80 per cent and higher.

HOW ACCESSIBLE IS THE COFFEE THEN?

Without going into the nitty gritty of the politics involved, a retail 250 gram pack of good quality coffee could be priced between 500 to as high as 900 Kenya Shillings. This in turn contributes to the limited accessibility to coffee by the local people. The growing middle class are now beginning to afford and appreciate coffee, but these would only be about three percent of the total production used locally, according to this report. To get the perfect blend, the brewing method matters. It is the final step to a perfect coffee. A good coffee maker or a decent percolator is just another divine luxury on the already inflated cost of living.

A couple of decades post-colonialism and we still wonder, is coffee an elitist foreign drink? Is it post-colonial or neo-colonial? In Part One, see how Vava challenges the status quo. You can also read more on the history of coffee here.

Meanwhile, look out for part three, where we will find out from Vava what it has meant for her, as a person, to be the brand of her enterprise.

Would you like to try Vava Coffee? Contact them on their website.

Every Bean … a Story!

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