Kenya

Coffee cultivation in Kenya began in about 1900 when Arabica coffee brought from Ethiopia was planted near Nairobi by Christian missionaries. From this initial farm of about 250 hectares, the industry has grown considerably and an estimated 100,000 farms are now dedicated to coffee.

Approximately 250,000 Kenyans are involved in coffee production. Most coffee produced by small holders with small plots of land. They are members of cooperative societies which process their coffee. The large-scale farmers, whose coffee estates are quite often larger than one thousand acres, produced about 30% of the crop.

There are two flowerings in each season and the blossom normally appears shortly after the beginning of the long rains in March or April. In most districts, the main crop ripens from October until the end of the year. The second and smaller flowering comes with the short rains in October or November and is picked in the early part of the season, often starting the following June.

Almost all Kenya coffee is processed by the wet method. Slow tank fermentation of 2-4 days allows the beans to become very clean from mucilage residue before running them through the washing channels and onto racks for sun drying with regular rotation resulting in a traditional bluish color bean character.

Specialty Roasters appreciate the elegance yet sureness of its unrippened fruit flavor, sometimes frankly lemony, a far cry from the taste we normally associate with coffee.

"The most fruity and delicately acidulated variety in the world. Should be sampled straight, particularly in the evening, for an idea of what fine coffee really is". (The Book of Coffee, Alain Stella, 1997)

FACTS AND STATS
Population: 23.3 Million people (Bantus and Nilotics)
Domestic Consumption: 50,000 Bags of 60 Kg.
Coffee Export: 1.4 Million Bags of 60 Kg.
Cultivated Area: 153,000 Hectares
Harvest: Main Harvest (60%) October to December
Secondary Harvest (40%) June to August
Arabica Introduced: From Ethiopia at the end of the 19th Century
Farms: 573,426 Farms grouped into 275 cooperatives 1,275 Plantations
Specialty Preparations: PB (Peaberry), AA plus-plus (Top), AA plus, AA (Screen 17 &18), AB (Screen 15 & 16), C (Screen 14 &15)
Botanical Varieties: Ruiru II, Bourbon, Kent

Facts and statistics courtesy of Coffee Board of Kenya