Jun 11
1
Coffee is serious business in Kenya. Located in east Africa, Kenya is ranked 6th in Africa and 18th in the world for coffee production. Currently, production is about one million bags a year. The coffee industry of Kenya has a cooperative system for producing, processing, milling, marketing, and auctioning coffee. There are approximately 574,000 farms grouped into 275 cooperatives. The largest growing regions are the High Plateau around Mt. Kenya, Aberdare Zone, Kasii, Nyanza, Bungoma, Nakuru, and Kericho. The main harvest season occurs between October and December. Coffee beans are auctioned once a week in the capital of Nairobi during harvest season.
Coffee from Kenya is the Arabica type. Arabica coffee is a high quality, mild coffee. Kenyan coffee beans are wet-processed. Wet-processing is a method of removing the four layers surrounding the coffee bean. Growers pick the ripe cherries only. The cherries are looked through at the factory, and the unripe and diseased cherries are removed. Then, they are pulped to remove the skin. After this is done there is still a sugary coating on the bean. The coating is removed through fermentation. This is completed within 36 hours. Next the beans are put on a drying table to dry in the sun. They are turned regularly. Turning the beans gives them a bluish color. The wet-process method gives the coffee a bright, sweet, and fruity taste. Kenya’s thorough process and attention to detail from seed to cup is what makes it some of the best coffee in the world.
Priscilla Leidecker