Last weekend all the people staying in Moshi came to visit us. Moshi is a smaller city about an hour and a half from Arusha, on the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was nice getting to see everyone again, even if we were a little cramped for space Saturday night!
On Saturday morning, we met them on the way to Ray & Juan’s former homestay. Steven, their host dad, owns a coffee farm. After hiking up the dirt road to their house, Steven took us to the fields to start picking coffee. You only pick the red beans from the short, bushy trees. And if you drop one, follow it! Nobody wants wasted beans. After filling about 5 buckets, our hands were filthy and we were hungry. We headed back to the house for a delicious lunch made by Steven’s wife.
After lunch, he showed us how to pulp the beans. During large harvests, they use a gas-powered machine, but four our measly buckets we used a hand-cranked pulper. Everyone got to try out. Not too hard, but I wouldn’t want to do it all day!
After lunch, he showed us how to pulp the beans. During large harvests, they use a gas-powered machine, but four our measly buckets we used a hand-cranked pulper. Everyone got to try out. Not too hard, but I wouldn’t want to do it all day!
Crunching off the husks
When the beans come out of the pulping machine, they are slimey and tannish yellow in color. Then they are fermented for 18 – 24 hours, then dried for about a week, depending on the sun. After drying, the flakey husks (kind of like peanut skins) have to be removed. To do that you put them in a giant mortar and pestle kind of thing and hit them with a big heavy stick. The beat of the stick kind of sounds like a drum, and Steven’s grandson really liked to dance to it—so cute! After crunching off the husks, you shake and blow them away. At this point, the grey beans are ready to be sold to corporations, who then roast them their selves. We wanted to drink it, though, so we started roasting!
Kawahia = Coffee in Swahili
It was literally just a fire with a metal pot on it. Honestly, I wasn’t getting too hopeful about this coffee, thinking it would probably taste burnt. It took about 20 minutes for all the little yellowy beans to darken into the roasted ones we are used to. Then we took them back to the giant pestle and beat them into a fine powder. Mmmm, they were starting to smell good! Finally, Steven’s wife brewed what we had followed from branch to stove (Well, kind of. We cheated by skipping to beans that had already been dried!). It was delicious! I’m one of those people that puts half a pound of sugar in their coffee, but this was so fresh it didn’t need it. I bought a bag of beans to take home, too. Get excited! :)
More about the rest of that weekend later--Sorry I'm so behind on posts!
More about the rest of that weekend later--Sorry I'm so behind on posts!