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Suzanne D\u2019Armond says she has been a customer of Cafe Nairobi for a year and a half | Simone Endress, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\nMartin Kakabi\u2019s first coffee venture was called Grower\u2019s Alliance. He started selling it out of a truck at the St. Augustine Amphitheater in 2006. He says that back then, \u201c\u200ait wasn\u2019t easy because people didn\u2019t know about the brand. Most people had never gotten a taste of Kenyan coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty years later, Kakabi still sells coffee at the same market, but with his new business \u2014 Caf\u00e9 Nairobi. Just like back then, Martin asks passersby if they would like to try some Kenyan coffee.<\/p>\n
\u200bKakabi believes that a taste of his single-origin brews will be enough to attract customers. He\u2019s converted many in the past 20 years, but he admits that it may have something to do with his own personality and the relationships he\u2019s built over time. \u200a\u201dSome people come to the market just for me,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n
\u200bWhen Gannon Barrett approaches Kakabi\u2019s tent, Kakabi turns to make him \u201cthe usual.\u201d Barrett\u2019s not sure what roast it is. He says he used to frequent coffee shop chains until April of this year, when Kakabi persuaded him to try Kenyan coffee. \u201cI like Martin specifically,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u200bSue West says she first tried a sample from Martin over a year ago. Today she stops by to pick up several bags of coffee for her and her husband. \u201c\u200aMy husband, Finn, is very particular with his coffee. So, he will drink no other coffee. We\u2019ve given up all the other brands, and every time we\u2019re here at the market, we buy at least four bags.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suzanne D\u2019Armond says she has been a customer of Cafe Nairobi for a year and a half | Simone Endress, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n
\u200bWhen Kakabi emigrated from Kenya to the United States at 26, his first job was as a dishwasher at a Panera Bread in Jacksonville. \u201cI noticed all these Americans coming up and lining up for coffee,\u201d he says. \u201cI come from Kenya, which has some of the best-tasting coffee in the world, and I saw that as a big business opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200bKenyan coffee is unique because of the country\u2019s soil. High elevations and volcanic ash give the coffee cherries a bright taste. Kakabi says his beans are grown in the shade, which softens the acidity that Kenyan coffee is often associated with.<\/p>\n
\u200bKakabi roasts in Downtown Jacksonville<\/a>. His 132-pound sacks of green coffee beans fill a loading area. All of Kakabi\u2019s coffee comes from Kiambu, where he is from. Kakabi says he works directly with the growers. \u201c\u200aI feel like there\u2019s a gap for an authentic coffee that is connected to the origin,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u200bWith his last business, Grower\u2019s Alliance, Kakabi opened a brick-and-mortar on Anastasia Island in 2017. Along with his coffee, the shop was known for frequent events like a weekly drum circle.<\/p>\n \u200bBut the pandemic slowed business to a crawl. Grower\u2019s Alliance never fully recovered. Facing steep rent prices, Kakabi shut it down in 2024<\/a>. He changed tactics quickly. \u201cI had to restart from scratch by creating a new brand under Cafe Nairobi,\u201d he says. He started focusing on online sales and returning focus to the markets.<\/p>\n
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Martin Kakabi says he\u2019s waiting for the day he can use his 300-pound roaster more regularly | Simone Endress, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n