Kola nut in day-to-day life

Buyers on markets usually appreciate the kola nut for its most obvious quality, its caffeine. With a caffeine content of 2%-3%, it is as invigorating as a cup of coffee and can be eaten in small portions throughout the day, as its caffeine is released more gently and slowly.

In Ghana, it is particularly popular among the Muslim population, who consider it especially sacred and also use it for its ability to suppress hunger during the month of Ramadan.

Another property attributed to the kola nut is that, despite its slightly bitter taste, it gives a sweet aroma to all food consumed after it. For example, it can be used to improve the taste of the water you drink after consuming it. This property made it useful during the cruel era of colonization and the slave trade. Slave traders found that they could use kola nut to improve the poor-quality water given to the slaves.

Then and now it is largely used by the working population and can therefore be found in the hands of shop owners, taxi drivers, construction workers or even officials.