Welcome to part one of the series The people behind FRANK† Today you will meet Grace and Mama Rose from Kenya. They will tell what a cup of tea means to them.

GRACE

One day the tea ran out and I had to go to Tanzania
I knew that Kenyan tea was imported into Tanzania, so I just decided to go and buy tea there. It was really serious… I haven't been able to drink tea for two days.

Once you know the real taste of tea, you can't just drink any other tea.

That's why Kenyans always take their own tea with them when traveling. Personally, I think tea is very important. I even check the labels. If the tea isn't from Kenya, I can't drink it. I always know exactly when the tea is not from home. That's because of the taste.

Tea is part of our upbringing. As with meals, we sit down together to drink tea. It's impossible for me to have breakfast at 9 and someone else at 10. We have to eat together, as one family. The same goes for drinking tea.

For example, let's say you're having a bad relationship with someone, and you want to make amends. People always say, “Let's have tea together.”

You drink your tea, and meanwhile you talk about the conflict. We cannot imagine life without tea. For tea is our life; tea keeps us going. When there are people we haven't seen for days, we always say, "Let's have tea together." I think our social life is important. I have no idea what we would do without tea.

PINK MAMA

We never drink tea alone. Frankly, Africans never really live alone.

When a mother wakes up, the first thing she does is make tea. And then we all drink tea. There are of course other drinks such as chocolate milk and coffee, but Kenyans only grow coffee for sale. Most Kenyans don't like coffee.

I personally drink lose tea, from my own plantation.

We resell the tea leaves at a profit to the factory, and then we buy our tea there. You must drink tea from a large cup. The second cup of tea is never as good as the very first. That's why you just have to get one, a really big one.

GRACE

Read more:
The people behind Frank #3
The people behind Frank #2