Espresso Culture in Kenya is Alive and Well
Nairobi! A city I used to know relatively well and spend a good deal of time in. Nairobi is a place that has great beer, but one thing I knew for sure was that in the past, getting great espresso was just something else. This irony here is that Kenyan coffee was known and prized around the world too.
Yes there were plenty of cafés and a couple of places that called themselves a coffeehouses and I do still remember that wonderful smell of fresh coffee that some of the places had. But these were not necessarily what I would term as the real traditional coffeehouses as we would think of today, real coffeehouses with the real coffeehouse culture that actually served proper espresso drinks were far and in-between. I remember that many who asked for coffee would actually ask for Nescafé. This would be akin to going to a café today and asking for a nice hot cup of Folgers!
And even though you could get places that actually had coffee beans, the choice of coffee beans and blends was actually pretty limited and certainly nothing to write home about. But that was then and this is now…
In just the last five or so years there has blown, a favorable wind of change… a few players have emerged who I believe have started changing the perception of coffee among Kenyans. Two of these new players, Nairobi Java House and Dormans, have started the beginnings of what I think is going to be the true, local coffeehouse culture in Nairobi
With Nairobi Java House, Dormans and even Artcaffè plying their liquid golden wares, I can confidently tell you that you can now get excellent, world class espresso in Nairobi (and Mombasa), espresso, just as you would get many of the coffee shops in Seattle, Vancouver BC or any other city that proudly serves espresso. I can also tell you with great pride that on my ‘short’ trip to Kenya, I actually drunk lattes here in Nairobi that were way better than many I have tasted in a number of the coffee shops I’ve visited in Seattle, San Francisco or Vancouver BC.
It was one of my goals, on my trip to Kenya this past August, to sample the various espresso offerings from Nairobi Java House and Dormans, and any other coffeehouses that I happen to find. I really wanted to find out what Kenya’s (or Nairobi’s) new contribution to the global coffeehouse culture looked like. And I had the feeling that the experience should be good. I was especially looking forward to trying out Dormans Coffee. Not only had they came highly recommended by a few friends, but also because they were really active with the World Barista Championships. John Makau, one of the Dormans baristas placed 23rd in the 2009 WBC held in Atlanta earlier this year is a testimony to the fact that Dormans certainly does take their espresso seriously. And at the very least this would be a fun experience.
The next post starts by looking at Nairobi Java House, which is the first real big coffeehouse established in Kenya.
Exotica Serves Great LavAzza Coffee
Exotica is a little café located in my old stomping grounds of Westland.
They serve Lavazza coffee which I was pleasantly surprised to find here in Kenya. Reason being that even in Seattle, there are less than three places I can name off head that also serve Lavazza coffee beans and all three do a really lousy job of it. Now Exotica used to serve Dormans coffee beans but after the owner started traveling more and finding other coffees around the world especially in Italy, they decided that they would import Italian coffee and sell that instead.
The reason for this decision was to simply bring something different to the table. This was not a condemnation of Dormans coffee beans which the folks there agreed was pretty good coffee but many places in the city served that and they simply wanted to offer something different.
I asked them about Java House. They were really polite but frank with their answer. The reason they used to use Dormans instead of Nairobi Java House is that they felf that Nairobi Java House’s coffee was not to the same standard as that of Dormans. This statement once again confirmed what I have heard from others about the fact that Dormans is a much better roaster than Java House.
The barista at Exotica made me a nice strong latte that I enjoyed. This was a big surprise to me because of my past experiences with Lavazza lattes in Seattle. I have had Lavazza coffee before in a couple of places in Seattle and I have always been disappointed… in that the lattes I have previously gotten have been pretty bad. Therefore it was a surprise to me that the barista at Exotica actually made me the first Lavazza coffee bean latte that I have actually enjoyed drinking.
Exotica used to have two locations. Their flagship store was located downtown Nairobi but that had to be closed down due to problems with the building in which they were located. They are now looking for another location downtown for their flagship store.
Dormans Espresso at The Creek Marina
As my cousin and I were coming back from a day trip to South Coast I told her I needed to get my daily fix of espresso and that we should go to Dormans… wherever that was located. However, since we had already crossed Nyali bridge with all crazy traffic, and also since it was already past 6:00 PM she told me that it was very likely that the place would probably be already closed by the time we turned around and crossed the bridge again. But she suggested that we go to one of her favorite hangout joints that served the best cocktails in town… oh and espresso drinks too. The place she took me to is The Creek Marina.
So they do serve the best cocktails in town, but what I really wanted to know is, do they serve good espresso? The waiter was nice. When we asked about their coffee, he told us that they only served espresso and cappuccino. I didn’t really want to go into the details of what he meant by espresso as opposed to cappuccino but I thought at least that was a start. I then asked him to show me where they made the coffee, and he pointed it out. I was glad to note that they indeed have a proper espresso machine. I don’t know if it was a La Marzacco or whatever but I knew that the barista would have to pull the espresso shots by hand and that was good enough for me. My mind was made up. I will order a latte here.
I liked the view and the surroundings. It was rather dark so I was not able to fully appreciate the view, but the little I saw was enough to convince me that during the daylight hours the view of the water must have been pleasant and relaxing. We settled down, and when the waiter came, I ordered a latte. At first the waiter was a little confused as to what I meant by a latte but after I explained that it was not too far off from a cappuccino, he said that he would go and talk to the barista about this. The barista clearly knew what I was talking about because less than five minutes later, he was back with my latte.
The latte was not super strong the way I like it, but it wasn’t bad at all. As I was drinking it I found the first couple of sips so be a little strange mainly because I couldn’t really place the coffee. But as I continued to sip the latte, the flavors started to draw me in gently but easily and I began enjoying each successive sip more and more.
Now being rather curious about this particular coffee, where they got it from and what blend they used, I inquired of the waiter for details. His answer was rather surprising to me and almost a little amusing. He told us that they used Dormans coffee beans, which they bought from the supermarket, Nakumatt. The fact that they went to Nakumatt to buy coffee beans is what really threw me off.
It was then that it all of a sudden struck me, the reason why I initially couldn’t really place the coffee, that is, where the coffee was from. Because the latte was not as strong as I would normally order, there was a slightly stronger than usual influence from the creamy milk than would have been if the coffee was pretty strong. Over the years having lived in the US, I have gotten used to US milk and almost forgotten how fresh and flavorful Kenyan milk is. US milk tends not to be as creamy and fresh tasting as the milk in Kenya I figured the combination of the creamy, Kenyan milk and the not too strong espresso shot was resulting in the flavor I tasted in my latte.
One thing that I am quickly coming to realize in Kenya is that many people do not drink really strong espresso drinks and so often when I order the equivalent of a tall (12 oz) latte, the latte will be a single shot and the milk will be really creamy. That almost seems to me like the makings of a different class of lattes right there. What I need to do whenever I visit Kenya is to remember to order an extra shot of espresso with my latte. This of course is the difficulty of ordering a latte from a place you’ve never been to before since you are never quite sure how strong your espresso drink will be until you’ve received drink order.
Oh yes, the Creek Marina is a pleasant place to hang out if you happen to be in that part of Mombasa.
Sarova Latté at the Whitesands Beach Resort
One thing that I have noticed is that Dormans has really made a push towards becoming the dominant supplier for coffee to many eating establishments around Nairobi and Mombasa. So it was no surprise to find out that Dormans supplies all the coffee needs for the Whitesands Beach hotel. I am guessing that Dormans probably supplies coffee to the whole Sarova group of hotels of which Whitesands Beach resort is one of them.
This being Mombasa and at the beginning of the tourist season, it’s pretty hot and humid… and finding a nice cool shaded place to relax with a cold drink is gold. But for those of you who know me by know me, the heat and humidity here is certainly not going to stop me from trying out one of the lattes here. It turns out I actually ordered two lattes in a row… and an hour later I was very awake and alert!
The first latte was served in a nice espresso glass cup. It looked really beautiful, not from latte art, but because it was in three layers, starting with the white foam on top, the darker espresso/milk in the middle and the lighter milk/espresso at the bottom. It also came with a shot glass on the side of what I initially thought was whiskey or rum but it turns out it was a maple syrup or something like that. I asked for raw sugar instead. The head of foam was huge and solid. When I poured my sugar on it, the sugar sat there, right on top of the foam, until I stirred it and mixed it all in.
It was a nice, rich and creamy latte, which is something I have noticed here with some of the coffee establishments. I just think it’s the difference in milk, whereby the milk is the US is not rich and tends to taste rather bland… which is one reason I think it really had to make good tea or chai in the US… but I digress. Overall I enjoyed the latte only wishing it was a little bit stronger… and so I ordered another.
When I ordered my latte I asked that they add an extra shot of espresso and I also asked that they give me much less foam. The second latte was also pretty nice. It was certainly much stronger than my first latte and tasted a little less creamy than the first one. This I believe was simply because this was a strong double espresso shot.
Gosh… these lattes are certainly going to keep be alert for a little while…
Artcaffè Excellence at the Westgate Mall
This particular Saturday afternoon, I had some business that I needed to take care of at the Westgate mall. And since I hadn’t yet had my latte for the day, I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone by picking up a latte while I was there. I knew that both Nairobi Java House and Dormans had retail spaces in this mall. And after my great experience with the Dormans coffee bar at The Junction mall the day before, the choice was pretty clear which of the two I intended to visit. By the way, I don’t know who came up with that expression, “kill two birds with one stone” but I can assure you that no birds (or animals for that matter) were hurt during my visit to the Westgate mall.
Just like the Dormans at the Yaya Centre, the Dormans at Westgate is located, not in a retail shop, but is run as a large espresso stand on the 2nd or 3rd floor court area of the Westgate Mall. By the way, the malls in Kenya tend not to have food courts like they do in the US so the lobby/court areas tend to look more like café or lounge type areas with seating. This is a similar concept to the Il Fornaio, the Italian bakery space at the Pacific Place in downtown Seattle if you are familiar with Pacific Place. The Dormans seating is actually pretty awesome and very comfortable. When I thought about it, I actually liked the concept because it looks very relaxing yet open and inviting. You didn’t have that closed, confined feeling that you might get if you were seated in a retail shop.
So the plan was to check out Dormans… alas, it was not ment to be… because… we just happened to stumble upon Artcaffè, coffee and bakery quite by pure chance. And though I really didn’t know anything about the place, just the fact that they advertised themselves as a coffeehouse caught my attention. I wanted to see what they were all about and how their coffee stacked up to Dormans and the rest.
The two ladies are the front, the maître d’hôtel, were really nice. Since I initially wasn’t too sure about the place, I told them they I simply wanted to take a look to see what espresso machine the place used. At least I could get an idea from this as to the type of baristas they had. I also asked them if they actually served espresso as opposed to regular drip or brewed coffee. One of them confidently told me that not only did they serve espresso, but their espresso was actually the best in town… no doubt. The way she said it made me think that this was probably not just some idle boast… and this really peaked my interest.
I noticed after a quick glance at the bar was that they actually have a La Marzocco all their espresso drinks were hand pulled using freshly ground coffee. I returned to the front to tell the maître d’hôtel, I now was convinced this was a place worth trying and that I would now take her up on her boast. I then noticed that right there by the entrance to the right, they actually had a really cool copper, almost vintage looking Has Garanti coffee roasting machine.
Dormans was going to have to wait for another day..
I opted to sit at one of the high tables that were surrounding the perimeter of the interior, mainly because if I wanted to take any pictures of the place, I would be at a good vantage point… and also it would let me be able to get a good view of the surroundings. And so I was able to check out the place better. Artcaffè actually looks really nice.
The décor consists more of muted colors that remind me of a softer version of the Fonté Coffee Roaster’s Flagship store on Seattle’s 1st Avenue just south of Pike Place Market. I liked that they had the mix of the normal type of tables in addition to the high tables with high chairs. Then there is the bar seating for those who wanted to be close to the action, I do believe there was some upstairs seating too. There also is outside seating which I think is just right for Nairobi but for reasons explained earlier I chose to sit along the perimeter of the interior.
Despite the tag, Artcaffè, Coffee and Bakery, I would say that the place actually looks more like a really nice restaurant rather than a coffeehouse… but one thing for sure, it certainly do not look like any old bakery at all.
I must say that I really like the customer service they had at Artcaffè. Now the Dormans people at The Junction, especially Alex and Steve, were really awesome. However, the Dormans folks at Westgate were not so great… I found this out later after I had my fill of espresso from Artcaffè and went upstairs to see what the Dormans space looked like. I wanted to take a picture or two there but they were not very helpful.
In contrast to the Westgate Dormans people, the staff at Artcaffè were really awesome, and the manager, even though I didn’t actually get to chat with him, was really nice and flexible and allowed me to take pictures of the inside. I felt that this is what good customer service should be like, that even though they have certain rules and policies in place, they are also flexible and can adjust accordingly as needed.
We ordered our lattes. I wanted a double but in a single serving size. This I think was the equivalent of a double 8 oz latte. The lady who brought over my latte warned me, “careful, this is very strong” I had to smile as thanked her and assured her, not in a mean way by any means, that I would be able to handle strong latte. I actually thought that was really nice that she told me this. What was even nicer was the fact that when I asked her if I could take pictures and I told her why, she went and got permission from the manger to take as many pictures as I wanted… including that cool coffee roasting machine they had out front.
On top of that, I also asked her for a paper coffee cup that I could take a picture of, and unlike the Nairobi Java House folks how insisted that I would have to order a drink to go so I can get the cup, she actually went to talked to the folks behind the counter then came back a few minutes later with the cup and told me that I could actually keep it. I have to say that she was really awesome and probably my favorite of the whole trip!
I really enjoyed my latte. It was nice and strong, just the way I liked it and tasted great. Now I don’t know much about the blend they use for their espresso drinks, but what I do know is that they do roast their own coffee beans… and do a great job at that. I think their actual coffee roasting machine is in the back, at least I think that is what one of the ladies told me. And as I am writing this, I actually do plan on buying a bag or two that I can take back with me to Seattle and share with a couple of my friends who enjoy good coffee. I would also go as far as to day that if Artcaffè were to open a coffee shop up here in Seattle, I really thing they would do really well… they certainly would be on my top five local coffeehouses.
Overall I have to say that I really liked this place. Even though it is not really a coffeehouse in the traditional sense, they do have great espresso and I would certainly frequent the place if I lived or worked near the Westgate mall in Westlands, Nairobi.
Dormans are The Coffee Experts at The Junction.
After my initial, slightly less than optimal experience at Nairobi Java House, I was really interested in trying out a proper, no nonsense coffeehouse. Not a place where they had a kitchen to prepare and serve café style food and stuff. From everything I had heard and from the little I had seen, I knew that Dormans, ‘The Coffee Experts’, was the place to go. And since I was staying relatively close to The Junction mall, I decided there is where I would go to try my first Dormans latte.
Now before I dive into my Dormans experience, let me start by laying down a little background about how I became familiar with Dormans, roaster and coffeehouse. A couple of years ago I was searching on the internet for coffeehouses in Kenya. I was not really expecting to find much, so it was a pleasant surprise when I discovered the Nairobi Java House website. This was clearly something new in Kenya… new beyond the traditional coffeehouses that Nairobi used to have, that simply served… coffee.
This discovery certainly peaked my interest and I was now really interested in seeing what other new coffeehouses were now in Nairobi. It wasn’t until someone I happen to know from Kenya then showed me Dormans’ website.
So as we were talking about the Nairobi Java House and Dormans and comparing the two, he told me that Nairobi Java House tended to attract the younger crowd, the one that simply wanted to go out and have fun but were not necessarily into coffee or coffee culture. This I noticed pretty quickly when I first went to Nairobi Java House. Dormans on the other hand, tended to cater for the espresso enthusiasts. He also told me, but this was at a much, much later date, that even though Nairobi Java House was really the first real modern coffeehouse to come onto the Kenyan scene, it really was Dormans that came out with the better coffee.
In addition to this, it was Dormans that helped train Nairobi Java House baristas to make better espresso. This was reaffirmed to me a couple of weeks later when I was talking to manager at a small café in Westlands who told me they used to serve Dormans, preferring them over Nairobi Java House roasted beans simply because the Dormans beans were clearly superior those of Nairobi Java House. This manager did not use those exact words because clearly he was not trying to be rude or mean, but this is what he was implying.
Now earlier this year, Gwilym Davies of England won the 2009 World Barista Championships (WBC) that took place in the city of Atlanta. What was exciting about this year’s competition is that the barista who represented Kenya was a barista named John Makau. John placed 12th in the 2008 competition and 23rd overall in the 2009 competition, beating all the African competitors. This is certainly no small feat. Incidentally, John is a barista at Dormans and highly respected among his peers.
Finally, a couple of months ago I picked up one of the Seattle papers which happened to have an article on some baristas from Kenya who were in Victoria BC for some training at Habit coffee. These baristas were all from Dormans.
The above three points were more than enough to convince me that Dormans is probably the top coffeehouse in Kenya and I should expect nothing but excellence. And so it was that this past month of August, I happened to be in Nairobi, Kenya and on this particular day, there I was, making my way to The Junction mall, to get a latte from Dormans.
The Dormans location at The Junction is a little espresso bar that is somehow connected to the bookstore at this mall. If you order from one side of the espresso bar, you will have to walk through the security scanner thing because you will technically be inside the bookstore. However, if you order from the other end of the bar, then you will be ordering from outside of the bookstore.
In some ways this arrangement reminds me of the various Barns & Noble bookstores that each have the in-house coffee shop for those interested in books and coffee. But the difference here is that this Dormans has seating both inside and outside the store (though still in the mall). So for those not interested in entering the bookstore, the can still order their coffee and relax at the ‘outside’ seating area.
I really liked the baristas at this place especially Steve and Alex. They were very friendly and welcoming and very proud of their craft. We chatted for a bit about Dormans participation in the WBC and about John’s great performance. We also talked about the baristas from Dormans who went to Habit Coffee in Victoria BC to learn more about the art of the barista. When I told them about the GFBO blog, they were willing to show us their latte art… which was really beautiful.
The lattes we ordered were even better than they looked. Alex, the barista, made me a really nice latte. It was a nice strong latte with great taste and flavor and I really enjoyed it. I have to say that of the three places in Nairobi where I had so far sampled espresso, Dormans was actually my favorite. Artcaffè by the way was my second favorite coming in at a close second. But I have to say that I strongly believe, if Dormans were to open a coffeehouse in Seattle, they would do very well, and give many of the local coffeehouses a run for their money.
I really like the fact that Dormans roasts their own coffee beans and serve those at their retail locations. They also have more than five different blends that you can buy, not only at their coffeehouses but also at the various supermarkets around the country especially the Nakumatt supermarket chain. I even saw Dormans coffee sold in places as far as Kakamega town in the western part of the country.
Now here is something to note. When you order your drinks, you will order either a regular size (the equivalent of a 12 oz cup) or a grande. The regular size is a single shot while the grande is a double. If you want a double shot regular latte, you can do what one of the baristas at the Dormans at Yaya suggested, order the grande but have them put it into a regular size cup since that will be cheaper than ordering an extra shot.
What’s my conclusion about Dormans? If you do find yourself in Nairobi and you’re looking for a coffeehouse where you can relax and enjoy an excellent espresso drink, I would highly recommend that you go checkout Dormans
Nairobi Java House… in Nairobi
For a while know, I have been really, really eager to check out Nairobi’s coffee culture and the opportunity arose this past month of August. The day after I landed in Nairobi (I landed at night so I had to wait till the next morning) I headed out to Yaya Centre, Nairobi’s second mall, for some espresso. I chose to go there since the Yaya was relatively close to where I was staying and I knew I would have the choice of at least two coffeehouses, Dormans and Nairobi Java House. This is where would have my first ever Nairobi espresso culture experience.
The initial idea was to go check out Dormans Coffeehouse, but then I discovered that Dormans was operating an espresso stand within the center court area, while Nairobi Java House actually had a proper retail space, so I decided that I would try out Nairobi Java House instead and save Dormans at a later time. I thought it would be nice to sit in the closed retail space as opposed to the open courtyard space that was Dormans. In addition to this, a couple of people I was with were interested in eating something so Nairobi Java House made more sense in that aspect too.
On entering Nairobi Java House, I immediately noticed a couple of things. First, the crowd of people that I had seen drinking coffee at Dormans seemed to be more of a coffee or should I say and espresso drinking type of crowd while the crowd at Nairobi Java House seemed to be a more general crowd, ‘want to go out for lunch/dinner type’ crowd. There where way more people ordering food to go with their sodas and fruit juices than there were people actually ordering any type of coffee or espresso drinks. I also noticed this once again a few days later when I visited the Nairobi Java House space at The Junction mall.
Thus, to me it is obvious that Nairobi Java House was more like a café rather coffeehouse, only that they do actually do roast their own coffee beans which they serve in their cafés and also supply to other retail outlets, supermarkets and shops. The good thing about Java House is that they do serve proper espresso shots that are hand pulled by a real barista on a La Marzocco and not some chap pushing buttons on an automated espresso machine.
So this is what I love about the place. I really do love the interior décor of the place. The décor, including the colors, were clearly inspired by the African savanna and also the Kenya national colors. I have to say kudos to the designer.
On the other hand, I do hate their ‘No Photography Allowed’ policy which they are relatively strict about. This is actually a fairly common policy at all the malls in Nairobi and many of the shops within these malls. They simply do not allow people to take photos there. Which somewhat explains the reason why you don’t really find too many pictures of Kenyan malls and stores on the internet.
It was rather bizarre trying to talk to the barista of the Nairobi Java House to get him to allow us to take pictures. He could not really explain why we could not take pictures even after we told him that these were private pictures… all he would do is keep reverting to the fact that it was a management policy. But at least he allowed is to take a picture of the coffee cup or ourselves as long as the picture did not show the rest of the place in the background. The folks at Nairobi Java House location at The Junction mall were even worse. They would only allow us to take photos of the place if and only if we were off the premises… and I was thinking, whatever homes!
And what about the espresso drinks they serve? At the Yaya Centre location, I ordered single size latte with a double shot. Now I am not sure what size I actually got, but it looks like a may have got the equivalent of a single shot 12 oz latte. The latte was not too bad, only that it was a little weak. I could have done with something a little stronger.
Based on this experience, when I went to the Java House at The Junction a couple of days later, I ordered the double size latte with an extra shot of espresso. I also specifically asked them to put it in the triple size cup, only because the triple size up was a different color and design and so I wanted to make sure I get that to add to my paper coffee cup collection. Well when the cup came, it was certainly a nice strong drink; however, it was certainly more than 12 oz… Though they hadn’t filled it to the top, the amount of room they had left was as if it was 14 oz or something like that. But that was OK… I could deal with that.
Once again here, the latte was actually pretty decent… not the best, but still pretty decent. I can tell you for sure that I have had lots of really bad lattes here in Seattle so I was still impressed that they did a decent job overall.
The place has free Wi-Fi and I did see a number of people at the Yaya Centre location on their laptops while nursing their coffee drinks. We wanted to use the Wi-Fi at The Junction location but they told us the Wi-Fi was “unstable” so we ended hooking up the laptop to a Nokia E71 phone and using the phone as a modem to connect to the Internet.
Overall, I have to say that the espresso drinks at Nairobi Java House were decent. Their lattes are nowhere as good as those of Dormans, and I probably wouldn’t go Nairobi Java House if there was a Dormans close by but I would certainly go there if I had no choice and I wanted a latte.
What really put me off the idea of making Nairobi Java House a favorite was their pretty lousy customer service, especially at The Junction. This is not to say that the waiters/waitresses were bad, not at all, rather I would say it was the supervisors who were freaky. I think if I wasn’t really interested in taking photos, I would have found the customer service much better.
Regardless of all this, I would say that if you want espresso with your lunch/dinner, or would like to use the Wi-Fi than by all means do go there. Otherwise wherever there is a Nairobi Java House, there also tends to be a Dormans close by and Dormans is certainly a great option to check out if you are simply looking for an espresso drink (and maybe a pastry or something really simple).
Dormans & Nairobi Java House Offerings at the Kenyan International Airports
When traveling in and out of the airports in Nairobi and Mombasa, you quickly realize that Dormans seems to be the default coffee being served at the cafés or snack bars at the domestic terminals at the airport. Actually, from many of the food establishments around the country actually serve Dormans coffee.
Although these cafés, both at the Nairobi and at the Mombasa airport seem to have the same branding and sign-age, there is no indication that Dormans actually own or run them. It is clear however that Dormans supplies all their coffee/espresso offerings and at least one of the folks working behind the counter was wearing the Dormans t-shirts. It was my assumption that he was a Dormans employee… but that is any an assumption on my part.
So there I was, waiting for my flight from Nairobi to Mombasa. I thought I’d get a latte from the little snack place and see how it stacks up to the what you’d get at the regular Dormans retail outlets. It turns out, that the lattes at the airport in Nairobi are actually pretty nice… that is compared to those at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport and even some at Sea-Tac airport. And they are actually not too bad when compared to the regular Dormans retail outlets. In other words, I would certainly order another latte the next time I am at the Kenyan airport waiting my flight.
Unfortunately, Dormans does not have its own actual retail space either at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) not Mombasa’s Moi International Airport. However, they do have a location at Wilson airport in Nairobi.
On the other hand, Nairobi Java House, the other Kenyan coffee powerhouse does have a retail space at have an actual retail space at JKIA. They are located in the departure lounge, Unit 1 (international flights) by gate 14. Here you can relax and enjoy your espresso drinks as you are waiting for your departure flight. Other than here, I don’t think you can order Nairobi Java House espresso drinks at any of the other terminals, nor at the other airports i.e. Wilson Airport or Moi International Airport.
Douwe Egberts: Espresso Offerings in Schiphol Airport Part II
5:30 in the morning. That’s pretty early by any standards… and once again I find myself at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, this time however, a brief stopover on my way back to the US. This is also the time I figured would be as good as any to get a Douwe Egberts coffee or espresso and see if my feelings about the coffee at Schiphol Airport would change from my previous experience.
So I go to one of the numerous ‘Grabandfly’ stands that you’ll find all over the airport and I order a my drink. The lady who made the coffee did not do the barista thing i.e. pull any espresso shots. Rather, she simply pushed a couple of buttons and stuck the coffee cup under the spout and waited while the automated coffee machine did its thing. This was the one thing I noticed at this airport, that no matter which coffee/concession stand you go to, they all use the automated coffee machines… which I guess is ok for those who want that consistency regardless of where they order their coffee and who also don’t care to experience the skills of the barista.
The price came out cheaper than I expected and at first I was pleasantly surprised, then I realized that rather than order a latte, I had ordered a drip coffee. Since it was too early in the morning to start worrying about a mistaken order and all that, and since I was going to be here for at least 4 and a half hours I decided to just drink the coffee knowing that there was plenty of time to go back and order a latte later if I so wished.
The first thing I did was to taste the coffee before I put any sugar or cream(er) in it. What I found interesting about the tasted was that the coffee tasted and flavor started to remind me of the IKEA coffee I had a while back that I didn’t really care much for. But what was even more interesting was that after I added sugar and creamer… yes shockingly enough I actually added creamer to my coffee… the coffee was actually drinkable. Certainly not anything to write home about, but I felt that it was certainly better coffee than the Segafredo coffee had I drunk a few weeks back.
It was a couple of hours later, feeling even more tired now, that I went to a different ‘Grabandfly’ stand and ordered an actual latte. Once again the person who made my espresso drink pushed a couple of buttons and there was my latte. A little bit of sugar added to it and I was ready to go. And once again the latte, though certainly better than the Segafredo latte, was not ok, but not something to sing praises to or write long adoring missives about.
I am starting to feel like maybe European espresso is really not my cup of tea… or cup of coffee neither. The one good thing that I was at least able to glean from all this is that at the very least, then next time I find myself at Schiphol airport and in need of coffee, I know for sure that I will probably be ordering the Douwe Egberts coffee and not the Segafredo coffee…
Segafredo Zanetti: Espresso Offerings in Schiphol Airport Part I
OK I am not even going to beat around the bush. I have to say that the first time round, I found that the espresso offerings at Schiphol Airport were rather disappointing.
It all started in Seattle on my flight from Seattle to Nairobi via Amsterdam. I grabbed a quick latte at the Seattle’s Best Coffee just before I boarded the plane… and I will tell you, that was a pretty bad latte I was served. This was about half past noon when I bought that latte and as bad as it was, I drunk it because I had not yet had anything to eat (or drink) that morning. My only consolation, while drinking the latte, was that at Schiphol Amsterdam airport I would surely be able to get a much, much better cup of coffee than the one I was drinking. And certainly better than the coffee they would serve on the plane during the trip. Boy was I wrong!
So I noticed that there were quite a number of coffee stands all over the airport and they were mainly from two coffee companies, Segafredo Zanetti and Douwe Egberts.
I was very hesitant to order the coffee at first because I noticed that the ‘baristas’ at Schiphol to not really pull espresso shots, rather, they simply push buttons to make the latte. Reluctant as I was, I just needed to get over my apprehension and go for it. And so after a bit of thought which consisted of figuring out where I could also get some food, I decided to try the Segafredo brand coffee first.
The only reason I chose this over the other was because I was pretty hungry (don’t get me started on airplane food) and one of the Segafredo stands was at one particular ‘food court’ that had some great looking sandwiches. Actually the chicken sandwich I ordered out to be one of the most amazing chicken sandwiches I have ever eaten… but I digress…
The coffee I had was just not so great. The good thing about it is that the coffee was a pretty strong bold coffee… and really, really hot. And that is just about it. The problem is that the flavor was just not so great… I simply did not enjoy the coffee.
And rather than dump the coffee and go get a coffee from Douwe Egberts instead, I decided that I would wait and try it out on my return trip to Seattle.