Coffee Culture in Ghana

 I'm writing about coffee with a simple intention: knowledge sharing. I've always wanted to write about my interests. Currently, I've developed an interest in the nitty-gritty of coffee production, especially the Ghanaian coffee variety. You can go ahead and say it,  I have a coffee obsession. I don't intend to only write about coffee. I've spent a lot of time considering ways I can compile my observations in a more structured way because I tend to forget a lot of interesting things. Here goes...

Most people in African countries drink tea, and Ghana is no exception. Typically, when we talk about morning beverages in Ghana, we have tea in mind. "Tea" as in Milo chocolate drink. I'm not criticising the way we think about our morning beverages, at least some of us take in a light breakfast.  Milo is the most popular morning breakfast here. Until Nescafe. Nescafe is an instant coffee that broke into the Ghanaian scene. Preparation of Nescafe is so convenient, hence the name instant coffee. From here, I'll refer to all types of instant coffee as just instant. Nescafe has earned a huge following in Ghana. They managed to break into the scene by adding all the ingredients-sugar, milk and coffee, taking the definition of instant to another level. And it was super easy to get a cup of Nescafe because they had a lot of vendors moving around. Nevertheless, that is the extent of coffee culture in Ghana.

There are mostly two groups of coffee drinkers in Ghana, some of them acquired this habit from spending time in a foreign country where people drink coffee regularly, or people who got addicted to coffee in their university days. Most Ghanaians simply prefer Milo, which is referred to colloquially as tea. Actual tea brands like Lipton and Tetley are household names but most Ghanaians prefer to drink the sweet chocolate drink, Milo. Coffee culture in Ghana is virtually non-existent. I don't consider instant drinkers as coffee culture adherents. This is because instant coffee is not hugely aromatic, and they have a sort of rubbery taste when I compare them to blended coffee beans. I also like to support the actual farmers who grow the coffee beans much more than mega-corporations who need to produce and sell as much coffee as they can for ridiculous margins of profit. Blending the beans yourself gives you a lot of freedom to experiment, and by nature, I love to tinker.  Don't' get me wrong, I'm not criticising anyone who prefers to drink instant. Of course, there is a cost for convenience, and I choose not to pay.

In my first full-time job, I got the opportunity to meet a lot of ex-pats. They had all come to spend some time in the Ghana office for their onboarding/orientation. As a result, I got the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures. We had a new hire, who was going to be based in Rwanda, but originally from Kenya. Kenya has a very strong coffee culture. There is also an office tradition where anyone who travels usually has to bring a bag of coffee from the country they are departing. I haven't always been that interested in coffee, but there was one particular Kenyan coffee which smelled so nice and caramelly. It had this really pleasant smell. (I also discovered Fatoumata Diawara from this person). The aroma would fill the whole office space whenever she was drinking it. Our resident Kenyan used to drink coffee a lot.  She explained to me that she is not a morning person, so she is always feeling groggy in the mornings. Coffee helps her to be more focused in the mornings. (I remember saying in my head, this can't be healthy). We also have another unspoken rule in the office,  anyone who makes coffee always makes sure that there is enough coffee in the French Press for the next person. So I started pouring some of the remaining aromatic coffee. I would slurp slowly to relish the fruity taste and vegetably smell of the coffee. I didn't particularly enjoy the bitter aftertaste so our resident Kenyan suggested I should perhaps start with the medium roasts, and it was perfect!  We've always had instants in the office, but no one ever seems to touch them. I never bothered to find out why until our medium roast ran out. I regretted it instantly. It tasted absolutely bland and rubbery to me. It didn't have the fruity aroma I had become accustomed to. At this point, I have developed a not so healthy coffee-drinking habit. I get the occasional annoying headaches from caffeine withdrawal if I haven't drunk coffee for some time. But it's not too big a deal because I'm not totally dependent on coffee and it doesn't distract me from anything. I can always consume coffee anytime too. I don't see myself stopping coffee consumption too. Therefore, why do I drink coffee? I drink because I've come to love the smell and I relish the sweetness and acidity in coffee. It's not an addiction, I'd call it a habitual dependence, whatever that means. 

I've also visited enough coffee cafes. There are a lot of cafes that offer a variety of coffee drinks. Lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, flat whites and espressos... they have all. I'm sad to say this but I'm yet to see good latte art in Accra. None of the coffee shops caters exclusively to coffee lovers because that might not be a very good business model, especially in a country like Ghana. Coffee culture in Ghana is limited. I don't think a lot of people know the difference between coffee and espresso drinks in Ghana. We have managed to embrace instant drinks in our culture. It is not only limited to coffee but in other aspects of life. However, it is encouraging to see that our culture is moving past overly processed products. But we have also become so used to the convenience fast food, instants and ready-to-go services provide. I'm painting convenience in a negative light, but that is not my intention. I'm just concerned about the fact that we are increasingly ceding our control to big businesses. To improve coffee culture, we need to be aware of what we are actually drinking. Where does it come from? What conditions influenced its production? Basically, I think looking at labels and understanding what is on the label is of primary importance. I also wish that more Ghanaians become excited about coffee, relish the different flavours and ultimately understand the benefits of coffee drinking. A personal recommendation would be to support the local coffee growers, as a consequence more businesses will start catering to the niche. It shouldn't be too hard to find locally grown coffee, you only need to look. When we start seeing our local farmers becoming more successful, regardless of our economic climate we might see a new boom in a different kind of entrepreneur who may have been hesitant at first but will be encouraged by what they'll perceive as healthy customer demand.