About This Coffee
The Slopes of 8 was the pioneering producer group in our Farm-to-roaster sourcing model in Kenya. This model focuses on shortening the coffee value chain for smallholder coffee producers in the country, and as a result, empowering the producers. In this model, independent producers enter an agreement with our in-country partners, who provide them with technical, logistical, financial and commercial support day-by-day. They deliver the coffee to the Kahawa Bora dry mill for milling, QC and export preparation. The coffee is then sold to us with transparent, farm-return pricing.
Since we want to support this group as much as we can, we buy their entire production. This way, they manage to sell their entire production with good revenue, instead of just a section to coffee shoppers passing by. As usual, the Slopes of 8 coffees come in AA, AB and PB bean selections. Next to the classic higher scoring AA, AB and PB lots, this year you will find the C grade on our list. This lot has smaller beans with a distribution over screen 13 and 15. These get separated from the larger screens in the dry mill, just before export.
Every year, the producers gain experience and knowledge from the previous year. With the year to year direct returns, the farm owners can invest in the farm and better processing infrastructure.
Or buy a nice watch.
Cultivation
The small and medium estate sector in Kenya has, until now, been frequently overlooked. Especially when it comes to dry milling, small estate owners have found themselves unable to mill their parchment and maintain traceability, which lowers their overall returns and removes potential for name recognition and direct-trade relationship. They've also not received the agronomic support that they often need.
Our sister company, Kahawa Bora/Sucafina Kenya have helped change all this. Small to medium estate owners, such as the Slopes of 8 group, receive regular visits, access to agricultural inputs and advice regarding a wide range of practices - from pruning, to fertilization to erosion control. With this support, they improve agricultural practices, and thus yeilds and coffee quality.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
The Slopes of 8 coffee is processed following the traditional Kenyan method of 24-hour fermentation, washing and final soaking. In the case of these eight farmers, the processing was done on a much smaller scale than in the cooperative system with the large factories, on equipment they have in their own yards. Depending on weather conditions, the parchment takes around 14 days to be properly dried on the raised tables they built themselves. The producers get support during all steps of the production process from Wycliffe, agronomist and most experienced Kenyan coffee expert.
The Slopes of 8 project groups eight farmers on neighboring hills on the slopes of Mount Kenya in Kirinyaga county. They were selected for this project, based on a selection of criteria from our in-country partner’s team of agronomists. The cherries from these eight farmers were processed at the facilities on their own land instead of at a central wet mill, where normally all production from various farmers is processed together. Also at the Kawaha Bora dry mill, the lots were kept separate. KENYACOF (Sucafina in Kenya) bought the lot directly from them, bypassing the auction, so the return the farmers would be larger. They don’t have to pay the milling and marketing fees to the cooperative, which means a huge saving on the direct return.
We strongly promote this collaboration in Kenya, because it gives more power, control and recognition to the producers. In this structure, more money flows back directly to them.
The idea of being part of a group of farmers is slightly different from participating in a big Cooperative Society. In a small unit like this, the number of farmers combining their coffees is much smaller while the focus on and control of quality is better.
AA Grade
Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AA beans are the largest size. AA grade coffees are those that are 17/18 screen size, meaning that they are larger than 7.2 millimeters.
Coffee in Kenya
Though coffee growing had a relatively late start in Kenya, the industry has gained and maintained a impressive reputation. Since the start of production, Kenyan coffee has been recognized for its high-quality, meticulous preparation and exquisite flavors. Our in-country sister company, Sucafina Kenya, works with farmers across the country to ensure these exceptional coffees gain the accolades they deserve.
Today, more than 600,000 smallholders farming fewer than 5 acres compose 99% of the coffee farming population of Kenya. Their farms cover more than 75% of total coffee growing land and produce nearly 70% of the country’s coffee. These farmers are organized into hundreds of Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS), all of which operate at least one factory. The remainder of annual production is grown and processed by small, medium and large land estates. Most of the larger estates have their own washing stations.
Most Kenyan coffees are fully washed and dried on raised beds. The country still upholds its reputation for high quality and attention to detail at its many washing stations. The best factories employ stringent sorting practices at cherry intake, and many of them have had the same management staff in place for years.