Here in the village, the typical breakfast is milk tea: black tea that has been stepped with milk and sugar. Most of the time there is nothing to eat with the tea, although when one can afford ‘escot’ (any food that accompanies tea) they gladly buy it. As our family lives as those around us do, we also often only drink in the morning. During banana season, our extended family provides bananas to all (you share with brothers and sisters what you have when you have plenty and they do the same. This is life in the village)

Bread is a common form of ‘escot’. Many eat it plain, or with a margarine called ‘blue band’ (people use margarine because it is shelf stable and we do not yet have electricity and refrigeration here in the area). Jam and peanut butter are desirable but not common here.

There are dried breads called mandazi (soft small triangles), kangumu (hard cubes), kimati (round soft heavenly flavored ones), kdf (soft but filling squares), chapati (flatbread panbread), and others. There are fruits when we can afford them. Bananas are the most common.

Peanuts (called ground nuts here) are another breakfast favorite. We liek to roast them with a, bit of salt, though boiled is also a popular way of eating them, especially when they are freshly harvested. This year we grew our own and I enjoyed roasting up peanuts that I had worked hard to bring

At my house I sometimes brew coffee for myself by steeping manually and then pouring through a filter. Coffee is not common here even though Kenya grows its own beans to sell internationally. Sometimes families have what they call “coffee tea” which is their typical milk tea with freeze dried coffee mixed in a small amount for added flavor.

It is the coming together, the laughter, the stories, and the cultural warmth that says “no matter how many come, there is always enough tea to go around.”

The thing that makes breakfast special is not the food that you may or may not get to eat that day. The thing that makes breakfast special is family and friends spending time together. It is a short time of rest and fellowship in which the constant work stops and people spend time together.

It is the coming together, the laughter, the stories, and the cultural warmth that says “no matter how many come, there is always enough tea to go around.” (they say “you can always add more water when you cook”)