00:00Growing up, Esther Atieno wanted to be a doctor.
00:05Today she calls herself a coffee doctor.
00:08At only 28 years old, she has broken barriers beyond her age, becoming a two-time barista champion.
00:14The first time I told my mother, I'm venturing into coffee.
00:18She said, my journey, tea.
00:21I told her, I'm making coffee, brewing coffee, doing some arts, I'm a barista.
00:29She got so confused until when I decided to do the championship and they could see me on television and they're like, oh, okay.
00:38Coffee consumption is on the rise worldwide, but where it comes from, coffee isn't quite as popular yet.
00:45Despite all odds, Tess, the barista, as Esther calls herself, wants to change that.
00:50I decided that we, as a country, we grow coffee and we have this beautiful stuff in our country.
00:58So why not utilize it?
01:01So my main aim was to bring these youths, okay.
01:06We train and learn how this coffee business or coffee in general works.
01:12So that when they get out of here, you know, someone can just decide to open up their own coffee shop.
01:17Or someone can just decide, you know what, I want to venture into.
01:20Having been in the coffee industry for a little over eight years, the double barista champion still has to face challenges in a male dominated industry.
01:30Being a woman in coffee industry or just any other industry ain't easy.
01:36And especially someone of my age.
01:41So it's been a long and bumpy ride, which I'm really proud of.
01:48In Kenya, 30% of the labor force is employed in agriculture, including coffee farming.
01:55To enable women in particular to participate in the coffee business, Esther founded her Line Hills Coffee School.
02:03To make this a success, she has partnered with the coffee farmer Edward Bangatuni.
02:08He farms in this 80 acre piece of land that was passed down to him by his forefathers, who introduced coffee farming in 1983.
02:16When she told me her age, I was quite surprised from the things she had achieved in coffee.
02:25Edward's farm employs over 200 people directly and another 300 indirectly.
02:30Esther and Edward's collaboration aims to create even more job opportunities and drive economic growth in the Nandi Hills region.
02:37Despite tea being the preferred drink in Kenya, there's a rise of coffee culture in the country.
02:43Kenyan coffee is very special when it comes to its unique flavors and the acidity itself.
02:50Like when you go out there and you say Kenyan coffee, they will say,
02:53yeah, the bright acidity, you know, the vibrant acidity that you get in Kenyan coffee.
02:58Because when even you meet in a cupping table and then people are cupping,
03:04they will identify this is Kenyan because of its unique flavors in it.
03:08For Esther, coffee is a way of life.
03:11It's about sharing your knowledge and inspiring others to find joy in the craft.
03:16Her interest in the creation of a school was to be an inspiration to girls.
03:20But boys haven't been left out.
03:22She makes us feel like we are a family.
03:25And I think that's the first thing that the students like about her, the interaction.
03:29The way she makes us believe that this coffee can bring out a career out of it,
03:35and it can change the entire world.
03:38So I believe that with her journey, what she has achieved so far,
03:41being a two-time barista champion,
03:43we are so much motivated that we can also reach the world arena
03:47and also do something with our life.
03:49As she sips her cup of coffee, watching her students perfect their craft,
03:53Esther knows that she has done more than just teach them to make coffee.
03:57She has taught them to believe in themselves and their potential.
04:04And she will be able to hear in the craft worldbruaries
04:06quires Quest them by herself without having themついて.
04:08Gratamericanh Johnny her son.
04:14She thinks she should get her three nights.
04:16On her body is going for her, she does not have to mind.
04:17She will look at her family with a child's son.
04:19She has touched her daughter's husband's father.
04:21So the three nights are going for her andкр extreme humor.
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