June 8: Coffee Tour

Coffee we brewed ourselves!

Today was pretty cool!  We went on a coffee tour, and made our own coffee (which was delicious!!)  We went to a coffee farm about 30 minutes away, and it was really pretty there.  When we first got there, we sat down and met the tour guides who served us really good coffee.  Usually, I can’t drink my coffee black; I always load it with sugar and milk…but this coffee didn’t require additional sweeteners.  

The whole group before the coffee tour!

After drinking coffee, we split up into two groups and began our tours.  Our tour guide knew that we were from America, but continued to refer to us as Europeans.  So many people here think that America is located in Europe.  Sad, huh?  We walked a little under an hour through the coffee farm until we arrived at this one house.  There, we sat down and were informed that we were going to make our own coffee.  When we walked back out, we were given details about the coffee trees, which were lined in between banana trees.  We learned the life cycle of a coffee bean, and learned that the healthier trees are wider than they are tall.

The red berries are ready to be picked! 

Once we learned the life cycle of a coffee bean, we got to picking!  Our tour guide told us to pick all the red berries off the trees.  We filled up about a fourth of a bucket, and then decided we were tired of picking haha.  We took our bucket of berries to this one machine which peeled the berries for us.  Now, they looked like slimy white coffee beans!  Next, we put them in this brown wooden bowl type thing and crushed them up with a wooden bat-like thing (I know I’m giving really good descriptions right now…sorry).  Our crushing removed the outer coating and there was the bean!  We put the beans in a pot over a fire and began to roast them.  It took some time, but once they started roasting, they smelled so good.  Once they were perfectly brown, we put them back in the wooden bowl type thing to grind them up!  Now, we had fresh coffee grind and the next step was adding it to boiling water!  And voila!  We had coffee!  It was SO good.  Best coffee I’ve ever had!  I had 3 cups of it and would have had more if there was enough.

Our bucket of berries!

Crushing some coffee beans!

After the tour concluded, we went back to our starting point and had lunch.  They served us pilaw (sp?), mboga (green spinach-like veggies that taste better than spinach), machungwa (oranges), miscellaneous meats (which were good!), ugali (stiff porridge which tastes like stiff grits), and miscellaneous veggies.  There was a white couple there who we talked to for a little bit.  They were both wearing shorts though (big no, no here!)  The woman was wearing pretty short-shorts, and we all judged her. 

When we got back home, Adrienne and I read for a little bit and I took a nap while she played with the kids.  I napped until dinner time, and mama served us pasta (tasted like an American dinner!)  After dinner, Adrienne wanted to do some more reading, but I stayed in the living room talking and watching TV with mama.  As we were watching Obama on TV, mama turned to me and asked me if the slave trade was still going on in America… not kidding.  She also asked me if blacks and whites were mixed in our schools.  I explained everything about civil rights and equal rights to her, and then she goes: “Oh that’s good… so there is peace in Europe.  Nzuri Sana (very good).”  So, mama thought slavery was still going on in America which is in Europe. 

Highlight of the day: Making my own coffee, obviously!  

The life cycle of a coffee bean.