If you were having coffee with me, I would welcome you to my socially distanced corner of the internet. We would exchange pleasantries and you would ask me how I am doing and I would tell you I am hanging in there…
By now you should know your way around to fix up a beverage of your choice… You do know it doesn’t have to strictly be coffee right? Zimbabwe doesn’t have a distinct Coffee Culture as such.. I think we are more like tea people… At some point in our history, legend has it tea grown from this teapot shaped country used to find its way to Buckingham Palace for her majesty’s indulgence. Can’t remember which one but a luxury high tea used to have its tea leaves imported from Zimbabwe.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that for all the coffee I mention I would not call myself a true coffee aficionado, I mean my palette is more attuned to nuances of an instant coffee blend and well, I don’t own a coffee maker, coffee grinder or even coffee filters. How do I make my coffee you wonder, well, how did John Wayne brew his coffee, in those old westerns? Why by boiling in a good old fashioned saucepan… then pouring very carefully.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that I’m trying a medium roast from Coffee Afrikano by Titan Roasters. And Fun Fact: Did you know Arabica Coffee originated in Ethiopia put that in your mug and drink it
The Arabica coffee beans hail from the hills of Mt Elgon Uganda and have travelled continentally to my cup here in Zimbabwe.
My coffee bundles are not enough to fully give you how it tastes in the proper adjectives, that its a rich, aromatic coffee with all the right notes of coffee, you’ll just have to make your own cuppa and know the truth of the frothy goodness for yourself…
If you were having coffee with I would tell you that while Zimbabwe might not seem like it has no distinct coffee culture, a quick walk through our history will show that coffee has been part of our culture from way back. Coffee legend has it that back in 1856 David Livingstone was introduced to the wonders of coffee by Chief Selekuti who gifted it to him at Linyanti on the Zambezi River. Chief Sekeletu’s men accompanied Livingstone to his first sighting and “discovery” of the Victoria Falls.
Personally I havent seen the records but its said accounts of these coffee legends can be found at archives of the Royal Geographical Society, the National Library and Museum of Scotland. If you in the area do pop by there and do lemme know.. so I can make some wild guesses about how we might probably have had a stronger coffee culture had we not had influence of the imperial agents.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe have the perfect climate for coffee that at one point coffee grown there was hailed as royalty, the Prince of Arabica, with a unique acidity and zesty lemon tones… I am just quoting what they say about it… and incase you are wondering yes, I love the local brew by Tanganda grown in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe…. Hello High Country Arabica
A local coffee place, the Coffee Republik made some waves when they announced they were introducing Starbucks to Zimbabwe, people assumed, incorrectly (me included) that they meant that the Starbucks Franchise would be opening in Zimbabwe, but what they meant was they would be bringing in popular Starbucks flavours…
Havent tried it yet… when I do perhaps my palette will be able to differentiate the different types of Arabica Coffee, maybe I might even truly tell you that you are missing out on the Prince of Arabica but you wont know until you sip of this frothy goodness….
If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that we are gota new denomination note, a fifty dollar note, and it features… Mbuya Nehanda… remember her? Recently they unveiled a statue in memory of her… Read Coffee with Mbuya Nehanda to catch up on that back story…
When she was executed her famous last words were in declaration that her bones would rise again… People have been making side digs at the new $50 note that what Mbuya Nehanda said was that My Bones will rise again, not my bonds will rise again.
Bonds is in reference to our currency which was known as a Bond Currency trading at 1:1 with the USD after some currency shenanigans in the past, yeah that didn’t work out as planned… Anyway, the new note is valued at less than 1USD and is not enough to buy a cup of coffee, or even a loaf of bread or pay for a public taxi into town and some people worry its a sign of our return to that hyper-inflation era…
Meanwhile our country next door, South Africa is experiencing some unrest and been checking up on family and friends to see if they ok, there’s been riots, protest and looting over the arrest of former president Zuma … its so easy to descend into chaos, scares me, would it be tacky of me to laugh at this meme instead?
Oh and meanwhile our 2020 Olympic delegation has 5 athletes and 15 Officials sure they need coaches and medics and such but honestly those numbers seem a tad off to me but what do I know, maybe the arabica is getting to me… do you want a refill?
Whats going on in your neck of the woods?
~B
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