About This Coffee
Edwin uses careful processing on his Fully washed coffees, such as this one, but he also specializes in Natural lots, using a drying methodology he developed himself through collaborating with other farmers on social media. He prides himself in drinking his own coffee every morning, which he roasts on an Ikawa sample roaster.
Cultivation
Kiyaka Farm is planted with ‘traditional’ SL28 coffee trees, which Edwin cares for with diligence. SL-28 was one of the cultivars released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) in the 1930s and 1940s. Along with SL-34, it became soon became the cultivars of choice for many growers in Kenya due to its deep root structure, which allows the trees to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation.
Edwin also grows Batian and Ruiru 11 on the farm.
Edwin receives regular training in Good Agricultural Practices from our team at Kahawa Bora, including fertilizer application, pruning guidance and renovation advice, which helps him to keep his small farm in optimal condition.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
At 2 hectares, Kiyaka is categorized as a ‘small estate’ in Kenya. This sector has, until recently, been frequently overlooked.
Traditionally, many farmers of this size in the country did not own their own processing equipment. They had 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. Edwin began processing natural coffees on his own farm. After some success finding buyers, he obtained a small drum pulper and now has his own, small wet mill where he can process his own coffee, ensuring full traceability back to his farm.
Cherry is selectively handpicked and then pulped. Coffee is dry fermented for 16 to 24 hours and washed in clean water to remove any remaining mucilage. The parchment is then transferred to raised beds, where it sundries for 18 to 24 days. As it dries, parchment is turned regularly to ensure even drying.
Even for farmers who may have their own processing setup, dry-milling within Kenya does not well serve small-to-medium size farmers. Many 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 which lowers their overall returns and removes the potential for name recognition and direct-trade relationship.
To cater for single producer lots that are very small, Kahawa Bora/Sucafina 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 like Edwin 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.
About Kisii
Kisii County lies in Southwestern Kenya, in the Nyanza Region, not far from the Tanzanian border. Coffee was introduced in parts of Kisii in the early 1930s, and it was one of the first areas of Kenya where smallholder farmers were encouraged to begin planting coffee on their small landholdings. Due to a number of factors, however, it wasn’t until the 1960s that coffee began to be more widely cultivated as a cash crop.
Today, Kisii is a less well-known coffee-growing region, but it holds great potential for the future.
About Peaberries
PB stands for peaberry. Peaberry is a name given to a very specific shape of coffee bean. In Spanish, peaberries are called “caracol”, which means “snail”. The name aptly describes the shape of the peaberry bean, which appears slightly curved in on itself.
Peaberries are the result of a natural mutation in the coffee cherry. Whereas there are usually two beans nestled together in each fruit, a cherry with a peaberry mutation only forms one bean. Thus, peaberries are a single, rounder bean.
Peaberry mutations occur in approximately 5% of all coffee. The beans are known for being rounder, smaller and denser, which can contribute to a more even roast color when handled correctly. Many people find peaberries to have a sweeter flavor profile, as well.
Since peaberries are a natural mutation that is not visible from the outside of the cherry, peaberries must be sorted out during the screen grading stage of dry milling. The peaberry screens have the smallest holes, which are oblong to allow the rounder beans to fall through.
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.