What is the national drink of Kenya?

Chai, black tea boiled with milk and sugar, is the drink nearly every Kenyan has every day. Tusker lager is the best-known beer, and the dawa cocktail is the drink most associated with Kenya by visitors.

Why is Tusker beer called Tusker?

Kenya Breweries was founded in 1922 by George and Charles Hurst. George was killed by an elephant while hunting the following year, and the brewery named its lager Tusker in his memory.

What is in a dawa cocktail?

Vodka, fresh lime and honey over crushed ice, stirred with a honey-coated stick. Dawa means medicine in Kiswahili, and the drink is credited to Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi.

What is the drinking age in Kenya?

The legal drinking age in Kenya is 18. Drinking in public places is against the law in Nairobi and many counties, and drink-driving checks are common.

Is it safe to drink local alcohol in Kenya?

Branded beer, wine and spirits sold sealed in licensed bars, lodges and shops are safe. Never drink chang'aa or any unlabeled spirit, as illicit batches have caused deaths from methanol poisoning.

Are drinks included on safari?

It depends on the camp. Some all-inclusive camps include beer, house wine and spirits, while others charge per drink. We tell you exactly what each camp includes when we quote.

Kenyan Drinks: Chai, Dawa, Tusker and the Local Brews

Kenya's three national drinks are a cup of milky chai, a lager named after the elephant that killed the brewery's founder, and a honey, lime and vodka 'medicine' invented for visitors that Kenyans adopted as their own. Around them sits a long list of fresh juices, green coconuts, porridges, sodas, traditional brews and, on the dark side, illegal spirits that every visitor should avoid.

Here is what Kenyans drink, when, and what you should try. If you want the full story of the tea itself, from the Kericho hills to the Mombasa auction, see our Kenyan tea page; this page covers the whole glass.

Chai and the soft drinks

Chai is boiled, not steeped: loose black tea, water, milk and sugar brought to the boil together and strained into cups. Chai ya tangawizi adds ginger. It is served at breakfast, at the mid-morning and mid-afternoon tea breaks, and to every guest in every home. Say yes when offered; refusing a cup in someone's home can seem cold.

Drink	What it is	Where
Chai	Black tea boiled with milk and sugar	Everywhere, all day
Chai ya rangi	Black tea without milk, often with sugar	Everywhere; ask for it
Uji	Warm porridge of millet, sorghum or maize, sometimes fermented and sour	Breakfast upcountry, and for children
Mursik	Milk fermented in a gourd lined with charcoal	Kalenjin homes in the Rift Valley
Madafu	Green coconut water, drunk from the nut	The coast
Fresh juices	Passion fruit, mango, pineapple, avocado and tree tomato	Cafes, hotels and juice bars everywhere
Sugarcane juice	Pressed to order with lime and ginger	Mombasa streets and markets
Kahawa chungu	Bitter cardamom coffee from brass pots	Mombasa and Lamu Old Towns
Stoney Tangawizi	A fiery ginger soda, a Kenyan favorite	Every shop that sells sodas

A dhow sailing across the sunset off the Kenyan coast

Tusker and Kenyan beer

Kenya Breweries was founded in 1922 by two brothers, George and Charles Hurst. The following year George was killed by an elephant while hunting, and the brewery named its lager Tusker in his memory. A century on, Tusker is the country's best-known beer, served ice-cold or, as many Kenyans prefer, at room temperature: ask for 'baridi' (cold) or 'moto' (warm, literally hot). The brewery is now part of East African Breweries (EABL), which also makes White Cap, Pilsner, Balozi, Guinness for the Kenyan market and Senator Keg, a low-priced draught beer launched partly to pull drinkers away from illicit brews.

The dawa

Dawa means medicine in Kiswahili. The cocktail is credited to Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi, where it dates back to the restaurant's early years, and it is now on the menu at nearly every safari lodge and beach bar in the country. It is a caipirinha's cousin: lime, honey and vodka over crushed ice, served with a wooden stick coated in honey that you twist to stir it in.

Dawa for one: cut half a lime into small wedges and put them in a short glass
Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey and muddle with the lime
Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour in 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of vodka
Stir with a stick or spoon dipped in honey, and serve
For a mocktail, replace the vodka with soda water or Stoney Tangawizi

Giraffes crossing the plains under an orange setting sun

Spirits and wine

Kenya Cane, a clear cane spirit, is the local favorite for mixing, and Kenya Gold is a coffee liqueur that makes a good gift. Kenya also has a small wine industry: Rift Valley Winery near Lake Naivasha makes the Leleshwa wines, and you will see them on lodge lists. Imported South African wines dominate restaurant menus. At safari lodges, ask whether drinks are included in your rate; many all-inclusive camps include house wine, beer and spirits, while others charge per drink. A sundowner on safari, a drink on a hill at sunset after the afternoon drive, is one of the best moments of any trip, whatever is in the glass.

Traditional brews

Busaa: a thick, sour beer of fermented maize or millet, from western Kenya, drunk through long straws from a shared pot
Muratina: a Kikuyu ceremonial brew fermented with the fruit of the sausage tree, made with honey or sugar
Mnazi: palm wine tapped from coconut palms by Mijikenda tappers on the coast, sweet when fresh and stronger by evening
Mursik is not alcoholic: it is fermented milk, the drink that welcomes Kalenjin athletes home

Traditional brews carry real cultural meaning at weddings, initiations and gatherings, and you may be offered a taste at a community visit. It is fine to accept a ceremonial sip from a known host, and fine to decline politely.

Chang'aa: the one to avoid

Chang'aa is a distilled spirit made from fermented grain. Kenya's Alcoholic Drinks Control Act of 2010 allows it to be made and sold under license, but most chang'aa is brewed and sold illegally, without any quality control. Batches laced with methanol or other chemicals have blinded and killed many people in Kenya over the years. Do not drink chang'aa, and do not drink any spirit sold in an unlabeled bottle, a plastic sachet or a jerrycan. Buy alcohol only in licensed bars, restaurants, lodges and shops, in sealed bottles.

The laws on drinking

The legal drinking age is 18, and bars may ask for ID
Drinking in the street, in parks or in public vehicles is an offense in Nairobi and many counties
Bars and liquor stores keep licensed hours set by county law, so you may not be able to buy alcohol at all hours
Police run breathalyzer checks on Kenyan roads, especially at night and in December; never drive after drinking
On the Muslim coast, many cafes and some neighborhoods do not serve alcohol; be discreet, and more so during Ramadan

Drink responsibly. Alcohol hits harder at altitude, in the sun and after a long flight, and it does not mix well with antimalarial tablets for some travelers. Alternate with water, keep track of your glass in bars, and let your guide or camp know if you need a ride. If you are traveling with students or a church group, we can set dry rules for the whole trip.