Kenyans online have reacted to a viral video which captured ready-made coffee ‘kahawa’ hawkers using their bare hands to stir while preparing the coffee at an unidentified location.
In the undated video seen by The Kenya Times that has since gone viral, three unidentified men were seen huddling in a corner as they prepared the day’s stock.
They were preparing what appeared to be coffee as they watched water in a pot boil. But the part that caught the attention of many Kenyans was the fact that they were using their bare hands to mix up the ingredients.
A man who is partially hidden by clothes hanging on a clothe line is captured constantly stirring the pot using his bare hands as a second man prepares the thermos flasks they use to hawk the beverage.
In the video, the two men crouch over the cooking pot as they take turns in stirring it using their bare hands and pouring more ‘kahawa‘ into the cooking pot.
Kahawa hawkers captured
“Aki anakoroga na mkono. Kuna mwenye anakoroga amefichwa na nguo. Oh my God tunakulanga nini!” a woman behind the video is heard saying.
This loosely translates to, “It’s real he is using his hands to stir. There’s a man hidden by the clothes who’s stirring. Oh my God what do we surely eat!”
The video continues and the man stirring the coffee leaves the people recording in shock after briefly bringing his hand up to his face before continuing with the stirring.
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Another third man dressed in a red t-shirt and dark pants can be seen waiting for the ‘cooks’ to do their thing as he smokes what appears to be a roll or a cigarette.
Towards the end of the video, the third man bends over to pour some more beverage from a brown thermos flask into the cooking pot.
The group of people watching it all while recording were left in disbelief, vowing to share the video to sensitize Kenyans on what they normally consume.
Another man who was accompanying the lady recording the video can be heard suggesting that perhaps the men could have been using ‘witchcraft’ to keep customers hooked to the coffee.
“Anaosha nayo uso? Awa watu wanaekanga madawa kwa hizi vitu. Ii nayo lazima nipost yaani ii ni Kahawa mtu anaosha na mkono?” the male voice says.
This loosely translates to, “He’s washing his face with it? These people usually spike the coffee. I must post this video; they are really using their bare hands!”
Kenyan react
The video has since caused an online uproar from Kenyans online with a majority of astonished viewers vowing to never again buy ‘kahawa’ from the city hawkers.
Thomas Yebei, a user on X (formerly Twitter) reacted stating, “This is what Kenyans are being fed with. It’s a shame we allow this type of hawking everywhere.”
Another social media user while attaching the video reacted, “Came across a video of three boys preparing kahawa which is trending. The way they are preparing it, you won’t take tea again in the streets.”
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A user named Kamundi also reacted by swearing that he will never trust street foods after watching the video.
Additionally, another user while reacting to the video noted that he understood how poverty can push anyone into doing odd jobs for money.
However, he lamented of not understanding why one would knowingly endanger the health and welfare of his fellow countrymen just to make some money.
On his part, a user named Joseph Kiilu opted to take the humorous side of it reacting, “And you wonder why kahawa slaps. So, the secret is the ingredients.”
Kahawa which is the Swahili term for coffee, is a popular fast drink among Kenyans normally sold in small, white disposable cups, especially during cold hours such as the night.
It is common mostly in the urban areas and towns, and a cup of this type of street coffee normally goes for as little as Ksh10.
Some hawkers tend to add some delicacy to the product by adding spices such as ginger ‘tangawizi’ or lemon ‘ndimu’.
In addition, other hawkers sell the kahawa with ‘escorts’ such as mandazi or cakes.
