Got Milk?

Everywhere in Nyeri, small shops are offering an organic yoghurt drink with vanilla or strawberry (well it basically vanilla with pink food colouring as there is no difference in taste) and so far we were very hesitant about trying the drink – until Nando arrived. Nando is the founder of Smile To The Future and working with us on the project. So he dragged us one time into the shop and ordered one drink for everyone. Being suspicious as always, Julia asked if it is ok to drink them not being refrigerated the whole day. But Nando ensured that he is approximately drinking four drinks each day - well she had to drink it anyway. Before we even had the chance to put the straws into our glasses, Nando had already ordered the second one. It was so delicious that we quickly got hooked. If you have ever tried an Indian Lassi, then you know what we are talking about. So end of the story, a yoghurt drink a day keeps sorrows away – meaning a trip to the yoghurt shop is part of our daily routine. Not being the end of the story, the yoghurt drink can even be outdone by a delicious drink called Mala – fermented Milk. It might sound a bit disconcerting, but as Julia likes to say “Go hard or go home!”. James, the head of Marketing at Dexter College (we will talk more about him and his special personality another time) took us to an African milk bar. Everything you get here is served with fresh organic milk, yoghurt or Mala. James told us that during lunch time the bar is completely full with locals enjoying their Mala mostly accompanied by a plate of Ugali, a traditional Kenyan dish made of maize flour. It tastes like a combination of semolina porridge and polenta. in the evening there is a long line of people outside waiting to get their milk. Coming back to Mala, it tastes a bit like yoghurt mixed with lime and sugar and it is even better than the yoghurt drink we tried before. So apparently there are way stronger versions of Mala, mostly to be found on the countryside – so now we know what have to try next.