"Do they have coffee in Liberia?"

“Do they have coffee in Liberia?” I ask at least three people in Washington DC.

H. John Heinz III College organized a day trip for the three of us to Washington DC so that we can do two things. First, we need to get our Visas from the Liberian embassy. Second, we need to talk to people about Liberia itself so we might know what to expect when we land, especially work wise.

Right now, In addition to large policy issues facing Liberia, I am very concerned about coffee. I need to know whether or not to pack my French press. The space in my suitcase is precious and I need to know if I can get local coffee beans, otherwise the press is useless.

From the day’s conversations I get the general feeling like there is coffee in Liberia and that yes packing my travel size French press is a good idea.

Back in Pittsburgh I pack my French press and hope for the best.

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After we arrived in Liberia several people told us that there was no coffee. I spent my first days in Liberia believing that there was no coffee.

Then we met a guy who grows coffee. The problem was that he didn’t roast the coffee himself, he just sold the raw beans. We thought about asking him for some raw coffee beans and roasting them ourselves. Kenneth has a vague idea on how to roast coffee and I used to work as a Barrista, like all English majors before me, and theoretically we might have figured it out. Realistically though, we didn’t have the equipment or the time.

Dejected I gave up on coffee. This happened sometime during our first week in Liberia.

At the end of our first week we went to a supermarket called Abi Joudi and right there on one of the shelves was a local brand of roasted coffee grounds, ‘Liberian Express’, packaged in a simple brown paper bag. I brewed a cup in the morning.

I’m not exactly a coffee connoisseur, so I can’t tell you what the coffee tastes like in terms of Ethiopian versus Columbian. I can tell you that it’s good coffee for a good price from a local supplier being sold in the supermarket. This is very good news. The capacity for local production of coffee exists, so if the local demand for coffee goes up a local producer could benefit and create growth.