When it comes to coffee ranking across the globe, there’s only a few places that regularly top in terms of coffee growth and Kenya is certainly one of them. Considered by coffee experts as one of the elite grades, Kenyan coffee is known for its full body and exquisite complex taste.
This is not by coincidence; Kenyan Coffee has a great deal of factors that work in its favour. At the heart of the Equator in Kenya lies the cool and wet volcanic rich and sun kissed highlands that act as Coffee growing fields. Kenyan coffee is famous for its clear fruity floral flavour that emanates from its sharp pointed acidity and its heavy body.
The weather alone is not the only determining factor when it comes to the greatness of Kenyan Coffee. How we cultivate it plays a big part as well. The happiness and love of a thousand smiles from a thousand men and women who gently sing as their hands and tools interact with the coffee plants and berries with one aim; to pick, assess, select and give you the best of what we have as per our Kenyan tradition. It’s not a doubt that a sip of Kenyan Coffee exudes its signature aroma, acidity and its black currant berry undertone from the soul of our fertile volcanic highlands whenever or wherever it is taken from across the world.
The Kenyan coffee beans have SHG/SHB Status. This is an aspect of coffee grading which means that the coffee beans are grown at high altitude. Kenyan Coffee grows at an elevation of 1,400 to 2000 hence leading to slow development of coffee beans but with high nutrition value as compared to low altitude coffee.
The Kenyan coffee has five distinct varietals: SL 34, L 28, K7, Ruiru 11 and Batian. SL28 grows in medium and high altitude and requires less rainfall as compared to SL34. K7 is a new varietal that is disease resistant. It however does not produce great coffee as compared to SL28 and SL34. To solve the quality dilemma in K7 varietal, scientists created the Ruiru 11 and Batian varietal. They are not only disease resistant but also produce great tasting coffee.
Kenyan coffee is wet processed. This means that the green unroasted bean is removed from its outer shell when the fruit is moist or just after harvesting has taken place. Wet processed coffee is clean and finer in taste. Wet processing also maintains the high-level acidity that the Kenya coffee is famous for.
As of today, there are 8 Kenyan coffee bean grades: E, PB, AB, C, TT, T, AA and MH/ML. Coffee beans are graded before roasting so as to determine their sizes. Size is key since same size beans roast at same rates. The largest coffee grade is Grade E or Elephant grade. In this category also lies the Kenya PB or Kenya Pea berry and Kenya AA beans with Kenya AA beans being the largest and most expensive bean grade. Grading determines and distinguishes one cup of Kenyan Coffee from the other. Kenya AA beans are the sweetest while Kenya MH/ML beans are low quality and tend to have a sour taste.
The coffee industry in Kenya is famed for its cooperative of processing, production, milling, marketing and auction system. Approximately 70% of Kenyan coffee is grown by small scale farmers. The coffee industry creates direct and indirect employment to approximately 6 million Kenyans and creates livelihoods for about 800, 000 households. Major coffee growing areas in Kenya are the high plateaus of Mount Kenya, Kisii, the Aberdare Range, Bungoma, Nyanza, Nakuru and Kericho. Small scale coffee growing areas are Machakos and some parts of lower Eastern Kenya such as Taita hills.
Reforms in the coffee sector have led to increased production and sales of coffee beans thus attracting suitors from high end export markets across the globe. The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency is in the forefront when it comes to spearheading coffee reforms. The agency has partnered with other stakeholders to help address the issues faced by coffee farmers in Kenya such as exploitation by brokers, lack of markets and equipment necessary for coffee production.
The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency and the Nyeri County Government started the Export Readiness Awareness Campaign in response to the protests of central Kenyan coffee growers. The program aimed to empower local coffee growers while connecting them with foreign investors and customers. To start this transformative process, the Agency and the Nyeri County Government organized an Exporters Readiness Awareness Program for Coffee Farmers. 53 eager farmers convened at the Ibis Hotel in Nyeri, where they received comprehensive instruction on marketing strategies, effective buyer communication, and adhering to the industry's stringent regulations. The farmers had the amazing chance to host and interact with twenty-two coffee buyers from Germany, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Egypt from November 5th to November 11th, 2023. It was an opportunity for both sides to establish a personal connection, exchange tales, and create business links that will allow for direct export of coffee hence cutting way the parasitic middlemen who prey on the farmer’s earnings. The Agency has in the past linked farmers to direct coffee buyers with the classic example being the linkage of Good Beans, a South Korean Coffee Company with coffee farmers in Kericho, Murang’a, Meru and Kisii with the aim of establishing direct sales.
The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency is also keen on enhancing value addition in the coffee sector. Although the value of the worldwide retail coffee industry is $200 billion, the raw material only brings in $20 billion for the coffee-producing countries. This suggests that the non-coffee producing nations contribute more than nine times the value of raw materials through investments in distribution, packaging, and roasting. This results in increased employment in their service sectors, increased tax revenue, and increased government capacity. Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency is keen on addressing the value addition gaps across the coffee value chain in line with Kenya Kwanza’s government Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda under H.E President Dr. William Ruto.