flipNgong Coffee
Ngong Coffee
Why this dish? Karen Blixen owned six hundred acres of coffee trees on the heights of Ngong and describes at length, in *Out of Africa*, the harvesting, drying, and shipping of her beans to Europe. Drinking this coffee is to taste the very heart of her African adventure.
A high-altitude Arabica coffee, dark-roasted and served strong in the Danish manner, black or barely sweetened with a spoonful of cream, as a table closer.
I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills, and there I grew coffee. Believe me, there is no purer sight than a plantation in flower, white as a chalk cloud after rain. In the evening, when my guests lingered under the veranda, I served them this black, burning coffee drawn from my own trees — and I told them they were drinking the seventeen years of my life. We liked it strong: a heaping spoonful per cup, never less.
- •Ngong Arabica coffee beans, dark-roasted — a generous handful (aromatic base)
- •Spring water — as needed, just below boiling (extraction)
- •Thick crème fraîche — a drizzle, optional (smoother)
Ngong Coffee
A high-altitude Arabica coffee, dark-roasted and served strong in the Danish manner, black or barely sweetened with a spoonful of cream, as a table closer.
Why this dish? Karen Blixen owned six hundred acres of coffee trees on the heights of Ngong and describes at length, in *Out of Africa*, the harvesting, drying, and shipping of her beans to Europe. Drinking this coffee is to taste the very heart of her African adventure.
I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills, and there I grew coffee. Believe me, there is no purer sight than a plantation in flower, white as a chalk cloud after rain. In the evening, when my guests lingered under the veranda, I served them this black, burning coffee drawn from my own trees — and I told them they were drinking the seventeen years of my life. We liked it strong: a heaping spoonful per cup, never less.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ngong Arabica coffee beans, dark-roasted — a generous handful (aromatic base)
- Spring water — as needed, just below boiling (extraction)
- Thick crème fraîche — a drizzle, optional (smoother)
Ingredients
- High-altitude Arabica coffee (Kenya AA if possible), finely ground — 10 g per cup (aromatic base)
- Filtered water at 93 °C — 150 ml per cup (extraction)
- Whole liquid cream — 1 tsp per cup, optional (smoother)
Method
- Heat the water until it shimmers, without bringing it to a full boil.
- Pour the ground coffee into a French press or filter, at 10 g per cup.
- Cover with hot water, let steep for 4 minutes, then press or let drip.
- Serve immediately in preheated cups, black or topped with a drizzle of cream.
How it was made : At Ngong, the beans were hand-picked by Kikuyu workers, pulped, dried on long racks in the sun, then sorted before being shipped to brokerage houses in London. On site, small quantities were roasted in a cast-iron pan and ground by hand, cup by cup.
The contemporary twist : Serve it at the end of dinner in small white porcelain cups on a dark wooden tray, with a square of 70% dark chocolate as a nod to the high-altitude beans.
Sources : Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Out of Africa, 1937
Karen Blixen · Charactorium
