Visit any house in Kenya and the first thing you will be offered is tea. Tea is the beverage of choice in many Kenyan homes and many deals have been struck over it. Kenyan tea is made from a mix of milk sugar and tea leaves. It is known as chai in Kiswahili. It is said that early Indian settlers taught the locals how to make tea, Indian style and the rest as they say, is history. The only difference between Kenyan tea and Indian tea is the spices. Some Kenyans (mostly from the Coastal region) spice their tea but the others prefer it unspiced.

Tea is served hot all day, every day regardless of the weather or what time of the day it is. Tea will be served with breakfast, at ten o’clock, after lunch at four o’clock, immediately after supper and as a night cap before going to bed.

Culturally, a meal is not complete if you haven’t had some tea to wash it down with. There may be water and other drinks to accompany the meal but tea will always be the last thing you are offered. In many Kenyan homes, it takes precedence over dessert and people will be heard asking for it if it is not presented quickly enough after a meal.

Tea is made in many different ways and Kenyans disagree on the best way to make tea and which one tastes best. Here are two recipes from which you can make your own judgement.

When one prepares tea, the normal practice is to prepare more than two mugs of tea per person because copious amounts to tea are drank at any sitting. One of the worst things and a cultural faux pas is for tea to run out before the guests have had their fair share. In that regard, the host or hostess will be seen ensuring that everybody’s mug is topped up and that there is a never-ending supply of tea from the kitchen.