There’s something special about a really good Kenyan coffee. We always notice that delicious blackcurrant note, almost like drinking Ribena. The latest arrivals are no different, so get ready for our latest coffee release, the rich and juicy Kenya Kiandu.
Kenya’s Cooperatives and Coffee Factories
Despite the plant being native to neighbouring Ethiopia, coffee didn’t arrive in Kenya until the 19th century. There are two competing theories as to when and how. One theory says that French missionaries known as 'Holy Ghost Fathers' brought 100 seeds from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean in 1893. Another suggests that the Scottish horticulturalist and missionary John Paterson introduced seeds obtained from the British East India Company, also in 1893.
Whereas in many countries farmers harvest coffee and process it on their own farms, in Kenya the vast majority of smallholders don’t have the necessary equipment. Instead, they transport freshly-harvested cherry to factories (also called wet mills) to be sorted, washed, processed, and dried.
The Kiandu coffee factory is located near the small town of Tetu in Nyeri County, Kenya. Nyeri is one of Kenya’s most famous growing regions, located almost directly in the centre of the country and boasting high altitudes, cool temperatures and fertile soil. (The name Nyeri comes from the Maasai word “nyiro”, which means red, reflecting the rich red volcanic soil in the area.)
This coffee was grown by members of the Mutheka Farmers Cooperative Society at altitudes between 1,600 and 1,700 metres above sea level. The cooperative includes around 6,000 smallholder farmers, of whom 1,900 are registered with Kiandu.
Each day during the harvest, farmers will bring their freshly-picked cherries to Kiandu. The deliveries are inspected upon delivery, and any damaged or underripe cherries are rejected. Although they might not make the specialty grade, rejected coffee cherries are still utilised—they are usually processed separately by the farmers (generally using the natural process) and sold as lower quality commercial lots.
Like in other countries, the cooperative model in Kenya allows producers who often farm only a few acres to reach international markets and earn more for their coffee. The coops also help farmers access financing, technical assistance, and seedling nurseries.
Kenya Coffee Grading: AA vs AB
While coffee’s quality is generally evaluated by sensory analysis—by tasting the coffees in a standardised process called cupping—some countries still use physical assessment to gauge the quality of the green beans.
One way of grading coffee is by altitude: in Costa Rica and Guatemala, for example, Strictly Hard Bean is a classification given to coffees that are grown above 1200 metres above sea level (higher altitude coffees have greater density, something which is associated with higher quality).
Another way is using size as an indicator of quality. In Kenya, after processing, the resulting beans are graded by passing them through screens with holes of varying sizes—the larger the bean, the higher the grade and thus the more money they can command. AA is the largest size, followed by AB.
However, bigger size does not always equal better quality, and a lot of the time AB-graded coffees can taste as good, if not better, than AA coffees. In fact, the last three coffees we have sourced from Kenya have been AB-graded, and all have been exquisite. We hope you enjoy this rich, full-bodied, and deliciously sweet coffee from Kiandu.
