No matter the time of day, there is always a drink to drink: coffee or tea in the morning, more coffee or tea or water in the afternoon (we actually insist that you drink water, it’s good for you and is… ok, we digress), and beer in the evening. So you see? There’s a drink for any time of the day.

We’ve grown accustomed to our chai. It is ours after all, and, tusipopenda yale ya nchi yetu, je, nani atazipenda? That water, milk, and majani fusion makes for a necessary stimulant. Others prefer coffee, and true enough, Kenya grows one of the world’s best coffee for both local consumption as well as for export. We are, and we’re reminding you again, that good!

But let’s think about that moment in the evening. You’ve met your to-do list at work and the sky is still a bowl of violet. It’s still early to go home, so you pass by your ka-local. Ah yes, a beer might be worthwhile. But what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it’s the drink’s golden colour with foam casually sitting at the top of the glass; the chill on the glass beckoning you. Maybe it’s the logo – the yellow and black, the elephant synonymous with both our country and the drink. Speaking of elephants and logos, maybe we should tell you about how Tusker got its name, as well as its signature logo.

Hadithi Hadithi?

By the end of the second decade of the 1900s, settlers had come and occupied lands throughout the East Africa region. The Lunatic Express ran from Mombasa all the way to Lake Victoria, and towns along the line were growing. It was in this period that two brothers, George Hurst and Charles, settled and became accustomed to the settler life: hunting, drinking and attending social events for the elite. The two had the idea to set up a brewery and create the drink that people of their class enjoyed. Beer.

In December of 1922, East African Breweries Limited was registered as a company by the brothers. Unfortunately, the following year, on one of his hunting expeditions, George Hurst forgot the magnitude of an elephant’s rage. He was killed in a moment of trying to kill (think, when the target becomes the hunter), and Charles was left in charge of the business. In true kin spirit, Charles named the one beer the duo had created in small copper vessels heated by firewood ‘Tusker’. The name came from the term given to large elephants and the logo, well, it had to follow the name.

Today, Tusker is a Kenyan drink that undoubtedly attracts lovers of the golden brew and tourists looking for ‘The Kenyan experience’. So next time you order your Tusker, maybe you’ll think of the brothers? Maybe you’ll imagine the elephant. Either way, we are certain that you’ll enjoy this revered Kenyan brew.

Coffee, tea, or beer… all our beloved Kenyan drinks. What’s your most memorable story of each one?