Kenya Coffee Farm

Kenya's coffee is dominated by a cooperative system of production, whose members vote on representation, marketing, and milling contracts for their coffee, as well as profit allocation. New Runyenjes Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) is an umbrella organization that represents 3 total factories (centralized wet mills), including Kangundu, Nduuri, and Ena. Ena's farmer members grow corn, beans, and tea as well as coffee. Part of New Runyenjes FCS' management is consulting on the ideal management of diverse farms, including sustainable farming training and literature. The society also pre-finances its members for pre-harvest inputs and harvesting labor, as well as family school fees.

At the factory, Ena collects cherries from members daily throughout the harvest months. The cherry is sorted on arrival for ripeness and consistency and then blended together for processing: coffee is depulped with a disc pulper — large, multi-channel machines originally manufactured in India — fermented overnight, washed in fresh water, and moved to raised screen tables to dry, a process that takes 2–3 weeks depending on local climate and ambient temperatures.

After drying is complete, the coffee is conditioned in large perforated bins on site to allow moisture to stabilize, preparing the coffee for transit and a long shelf life. The established milling and sorting by grade, or bean size, is a longstanding tradition that positions Kenya coffees well for roasters — tightly controlling physical preparation and creating a diversity of profiles from a single processing batch.

Our Kenya coffee is sourced from the Othaya region of Nyeri County, grown at elevations of 1,700–1,890 meters. The SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian varieties are fully washed and dried on raised beds, producing a bright, effervescent cup with notes of orange, lemon, and floral complexity.