About This Coffee
Livien Osiemo has long dreamed of having a coffee farm. In 2015, he purchased Limwe Estate and planted the first coffee trees on the farm. The farm is spread across five plots in Nyamira County. Together, they make up about 8 hectares of coffee plantings.
Cultivation
At the high altitudes of 2,070 meters above sea level, pests and coffee diseases are minimal. Therefore, use of pesticides and fungicides are low and largely unneeded.
With help from our partner, Kahawa Bora Millers, Livien also has access to training about improved pruning, cultivation and harvesting methods. Kahawa Bora’s field staff have also performed soil analysis on small estates to inform correct input application, which helps improve yields and quality while reducing cost and environmental impact. This focus on high quality at all stages of cultivation and processing has increased cup scores in a short period of time.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Traditionally, many farmers of this size in the country did not own their own processing equipment. They have historically delivered cherry to a centralized cooperative-owned ‘factory’ (as washing stations are called, locally), where their production is combined with that of others from their region. Livien has his own, small wet mill where he is able to process his own coffee, ensuring full traceability back to his farm.
Cherry is selectively handpicked and then pulped. Coffee is fermented for 12 to 24 hours in a small tank before being washed in clean water to remove any remaining mucilage. All wastewater from the washing process is cleaned to ensure environmental impact is limited.
Parchment is soaked in clean water for 12 to 14 hours and then transferred to raised beds where it sundries for 21 to 30 days. As it dries, parchment is turned regularly to ensure even drying.
Even for farmers who may have their own processing setup, the dry-milling set-up within Kenya does not well serve small-to-medium size farmers. Dry mills have lot minimums, which are usually about 50 bags of parchment per lot. This is often unattainable for smaller farmers, necessitating that they merge their lots with others, losing traceability, which in turn lowers their overall returns and removes the potential for name recognition and direct-trade relationships.
To cater to single producer lots that are very small, our partner, Kahawa Bora Millers, has a separate microlot milling line that was custom-made to hull (remove the parchment from the green coffee beans) lots as small as one bag at a time. This line makes it possible for growers to maintain their own ‘brand’ when selling their coffee. We feel this is a push in the right direction for Kenyan growers to gain market access to quality-focused buyers overseas.
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.