The first Kenyan of the 2023 new season! And the first time, too, we feature the Kagumo cooperative goods.
The Kagumo factory is operated by the Mutira Farmer Cooperative Society, which is the umbrella cooperative overseeing several regional coffee factories, including Kagumo, Mutitu, and Kiangundu, among others; there are around 4,000 members who are part of the whole society.
Coffees in Kenya are typically traceable to the factory level, where smallholder farmers deliver cherry for sale and processing. Producers deliver their cherry and receive payment based on weight at the market level for the day. After the coffee is received by the F.C.S., it is sorted and processed into lots that are built by quantity, so it is nearly impossible to know which farmers’ coffees end up in which particular lot. Because of the very small average farm size, there is typically no way to keep more-detailed records at the factory level, without adding miles of paperwork and delay. This is one of the reasons it is difficult to find highly traceable coffees from Kenya.
Microlots from Kenya are traceable to either the factory level or individual farm level (when possible), and are selected basis cup score. Because the majority of coffee farmers in Kenya own between 1/8–1/4 a hectare of land, most deliver coffee in cherry form to a local factory for sorting and processing; at the factory, the deliveries are blended and processed into day lots comprising the day’ s deliveries. Our green buyer for Kenya typically takes up residency in Kenya during the harvest due to the sheer number of samples to be cupped and selects the best of these lots to purchase as microlots (fewer than 100 bags).
Varietals
The varietals in this lot are SL28, SL34, Batian and Ruiru 11—all considered Kenyan-endemic. The first two were developed by the Scott Agricultural Laboratories, established by the colonial British government in 1922. The last couple were developed by the Coffee Research Foundation (CRF), based in Ruiru, and in response to severe Coffee Berry Disease and Leaf Rust outbreaks that struck Kenya in the late 60s.
Ruiru and Batian instil a sort of national pride in many farmers. These varieties were developed by national scientists right after the British colonialist era.
Find lots of interesting facts about Kenyan varietals on this article by Trabocca importers.
Process
Most of Kenya’s coffee is produced by smallholders delivering to factories (central processing units) that predominantly produce Washed coffees. Estates are also best known for their Washed lots. The Washed process in Kenya may vary slightly from place to place, but it generally contains a soaking step that is unique to this growing country. First, the coffee is picked ripe and depulped the same day, and then it is normally fermented in open-air tanks made of concrete or cement for 24–48 hours. It’s then washed thoroughly using water channels before being soaked underwater for 12–72 hours. It is then spread on raised beds to dry.
