Subscription - Kenya Kirinyaga - Specialty Coffee - 250g

Today we travel to Kenya, among the fiery red lands of the Masai, in perfect contrast to the lush green of the Savannah, at the foot of Kilimanjaro.

The beginning of coffee cultivation

The country's early coffee history is very rich and complex, but it began with one of humanity's greatest atrocities: slavery.

Despite neighboring Ethiopia, the original birthplace of the coffee plant, Kenya's coffee bean industry began about 300 years after the start of mass, global commercialization.

In fact, it was French colonists who introduced the plant from Brazil in 1893. But it was the British colonizers, in the early 20th century, who made a real fortune by growing coffee on the backs of Kenyan workers.

Despite this, by the 1930s, the power of black farmers had grown very strong. According to the Europeans, the more than 1 million members of the Kikuyu tribe were claiming ownership of their lands.

To protect their interests, wealthy Europeans banned them from growing coffee, imposed a tax on their huts, and paid them increasingly less. The Kikuyu were forced to leave their land and move to the cities to survive.

This legal slavery of the population continued until 1950, with large-scale plantations managed exclusively by farmers of European origin. Only in 1952 was the market opened to Kenyans, who organized themselves into cooperatives to share maintenance costs and investment in equipment.
These cooperatives are now well organized and structured, divided into “districts” and “farms,” and are responsible for most of the country’s exports, with approximately 250,000 Kenyans employed in coffee production.

The poorest farmers in the world

All coffee grown in Kenya is Arabica, mostly washed, with a very high average bean quality, grown in the rich volcanic soil of the country's highlands.

Despite the uniqueness of Kenyan coffee, farmers remain among the poorest in the world.

In the early 2000s, for example, a farmer producing a 1,000kg crop would have earned just £20.14 for his long, hard work.

Why Kenyan coffee is sought after

Kenyan coffee has a bright acidity and great sweetness, with a dry, vinous aftertaste. A truly good Kenyan coffee will also have a flavor and aroma of blackcurrant, redcurrant, blackberry, and citrus.

Indeed, some of the world's best-rated coffees come from Kenya, and as premium coffees, they inspire admiration when tasted.

Kenya enjoys this level of quality thanks to a government program that offers farmers premiums for producing premium coffee. This policy has led to continuous improvement and consistent cup quality.
For this reason, every batch of coffee in Kenya, whether it comes from a large farm or a small cooperative, must undergo rigorous quality testing by the Coffee Board of Kenya.

Coffee-growing areas

Cultivation was initially concentrated in the Kiambu district, north of Nairobi, the country's capital and the hub of coffee production, taking advantage of the numerous facilities built by missionaries over the years. The original variety produced was exclusively Bourbon, still known today as French Mission Varietal, one of the finest available on the market.

Kenyan coffee production represents only 0.5% of the global market, ranking it twenty-second among global coffee producing countries. Despite this small production volume, demand for Kenyan coffee brands is steadily growing.

The largest crops today are found on the hills of Mount Kenya, between 1200 and 2100m above sea level, distributed on the characteristic red clay soil, rich in aluminum and iron, which contributes to its typical flavor, as well as enjoying perfect climatic conditions.

The summer and spring climate is in fact very similar to the European one, with a temperature range not exceeding 19°C and rainfall well distributed throughout the year.

The country enjoys two flowerings each year, the first soon after the onset of the rains in March/April and the second in October, but in most districts, the main crop ripens from October to December.