David Bor is the reason Lake Missoula came to Kenya. About a year ago, he contacted me and asked if I would like to try his purple tea. He knew we previously carried purple tea from Royal Tea of Kenya from our friend Joy.  Sadly, Joy passed away and we no longer carried her Kenyan tea. Last spring, I asked David if he would be open to us coming to Kenya to visit his farm. His response was “karibu” or welcome in Swahili.

Our goal was to learn about purple tea, so we could better promote it, and learn about the tea industry in Kenya. We made great progress with both of these goals.

I recognized David immediately when we arrived at the Eldoret airport. I’d seen him in a news clip talking about purple tea. David has a solid, kind way about him that was readily apparent. It took awhile to get to the farm, as Kenyan roads are a rodeo ride – interspersed with speed bumps, sink holes and pedestrians. I would guess 75% of the Kenyan population walks along the Kenyan byway at any given time. Meaning – it takes a long time to go anywhere, and is a lot of work to drive in Kenya.

We arrived at the farm at dusk and were greeted by David’s wife, Bernadine, and his brother, Joel. David and Bernadine’s home had a new addition and was in the traditional ranch, or “Kenyan” style, as David called it. Bernadine made us the strongest black tea I’d ever had in my life, and it was clear to me why they say Kenyans like their black tea with sugar and milk. We then brewed a new whole leaf black that was superb, bold yet smooth, and will be our new Beliote (Elephant) Black, followed by the Purple Tea – Nandi Gold. The purple tea surprised us – which now has a subtle sweet with drier overtones due to a change in manufacturing. The purple is now slightly rolled, with a distinct aroma. This tea keeps getting better. Later that night, they showered us with traditional Nandi gifts — blankets and jewelry.