Point Zero outlet set to stir up Nairobi coffee-drinking culture

Point Zero was dubbed “the centre of Nairobi” in the early days of the 20th century and almost 100 years later, the point is still at the heart of Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD).

Situated inside the Nairobi Gallery at the corner of Kenyatta Avenue and Uhuru Highway, the point is marked by a black marble tile topped up with a highly prized and polished ceramic vase created by the acclaimed Kenyan ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, the only Kenyan artist with an OBE handed to her by the Queen of England.

But by the end of July, there will be a new Point Zero associated with the blue stone building formerly known as the colonial Provincial Commissioner’s office.

The Point Zero Coffee bar and store is being started by two enterprising coffee connoisseurs Andrea Moraa and Wangeci Gitobu who have dreamed for decades of having a coffee shop in Kenya, preferably in Nairobi’s city centre. Now their dream is coming true thanks to their recent discovery that Nairobi Gallery seriously wanted and needed a coffee shop on its outdoor veranda.

“We have scores of visitors who take the gallery tour with Felix Kipkoech and after it’s done just want to sit and relax with a good cup of coffee (or tea),” said Alan Donovan, curator of the Joseph and Sheila Murumbi Collections at Nairobi Gallery and CEO of African Heritage House.

The city already has several coffee houses which Ms Moraa says have done a good job developing a “coffee culture” in Kenya.

The recent Barista Competition co-sponsored by Dormans Coffee and the Art Café is one example of ways that local businesses have weaned away former full-time tea drinkers into the more cosmopolitan lifestyle that includes drinking top quality coffee like what’s grown in Kenya.

“Now I hear Kenyans asking for “extra shots of espresso” and “more froth” in coffee shops around the town,” she noted. But there’s no doubt that the Point Zero women intend for their coffee shop to surpass the other coffee houses for the quality of coffee that they will serve as well as for the fresh air atmosphere that customers will find seated outside the gallery.

“We initially came to Nairobi Gallery as art lovers so we are thrilled to be associated with a gallery that amplifies Kenya’s cultural heritage,” said Ms Gitobu who added that Kenya also has a coffee heritage which Point Zero Coffee will draw upon.

“Our coffee beans will come from all over Kenya. We will only serve Arabica and every day our House Coffee will either come from Ruiru or Mount Elgon, Nyeri or Bungoma where the beans known as “Voice of God” were recently named the second best coffee grown in Africa by the authoritative Coffee Review,” said Ms Moraa who added that coffee grown in different regions of the country have different flavours.

Promising to give Kenyans and foreign visitors the opportunity to discover the various tastes of high quality Kenya coffee, she said they were only going to serve freshly ground coffee that they source from local dealers and roasters.

This is quite a contrast compared to locally-available coffee brands that sell coffee that is either partly Kenyan but also blended with other inferior brands or that comes mainly from either Latin America or Tanzania. That is intentional since most of the finest Kenyan coffee gets exported to markets in Europe and elsewhere.

“We plan to taste the coffee before we buy it to ensure its quality,” said Ms Moraa who is a trained coffee taster and “coffee master”.

She worked for 12 years at a leading coffee firm in the UK. During that time she attended specialised courses designed by her company to master the fine points of coffee, including its history and specific techniques of making the very best cup of the beverage.

“There are four basic points to making an excellent cup of coffee,” she said. “You must prepare it with the right proportions and use the right grind. For instance, you use a fine grind to make an espresso.

“The temperature of the water is also important. It must not be boiling, just off the boil. And of course, the freshness of the beans is extremely important.”

Ms Moraa speaks as a true connoisseur who is very careful not to compromise her palette with any sort of food or drink that could diminish the sensitivity of her taste buds. Ms Gitobu, having trained in law, works more on the legal and entrepreneurial side of their new business.

But both women are keen not to compromise the quality of the coffee they will serve once Zero Point Coffee is opened next month. They are even installing their own deck, canopy and comfortable benches for the overflow of customers who are bound to come to their coffee store once it opens in July.