Kenya's growing taste for specialty coffee seen spurring output

FILE PHOTO: A worker holds coffee berries as they to sundry at the Bradegate coffee factory in Karatina near Nyeri, Kenya June 3, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

NYERI, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyan butcher David Mwangi likes to start his day with a mocha or a cappuccino at a newly opened coffee shop in his area - the first such outlet in a farming town where a sweet, milky cup of tea is the way most people start the day.

"Coffee helps my mind to wake up. The taste is sweet," the 27-year-old said, while sipping the beverage at the outlet owned by Kilele Coffee Company in Karatina town, which is about 120 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi.