About This Coffee
Francis Muigai Muru has been farming coffee since 2011 when he inherited a portion of his farm. Francis takes immense pride in cultivating and processing his high-quality coffees at Fram Farm. Over time, he has purchased additional land, increasing his farm by about 40%. The farm’s name is a shortening of his name and comes from the first 3 letters of his first name “Francis” and the first letter of his last “Muru”, creating the name “Fram”.
Cultivation
Francis uses regenerative agriculture to ensure the farm’s long term sustainability. Shade trees grow among coffee trees, providing shade and reinvigorating the soil through nitrogen fixing and other ecosystem services. He regularly prunes his coffee trees and replants aging trees. He uses minimum tilling to protect the soil.
Francis cultivates primarily SL28, Batian and Ruiru 11 on Fram Farm. ‘SL’ varieties are cultivars originally released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the go-to trees for many growers in Kenya due to their deep root structure, which allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation. They are cultivated with a serious eye to sustainability and Good Agricultural Practices, with minimal environmental impact where possible.
Batian is a relatively new variety introduced by the Kenya Coffee Research Institute (CRI) in 2010. Batian is named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya and is resistant to both Coffee Berry Disease and Coffee Leaf Rust. The variety has the added benefit of early maturity – cropping after only two years. Similar to Batian, Ruiru 11 is a new variety known for its disease resistance and high yields. It also starts yielding fruit after just 2 years.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
At 3.6 hectares, Farm Farm is categorized as a ‘small estate’ in Kenya. Traditionally, many farmers of this size in the country did not operate 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. Francis, however, operates a small wet-mill and processes his own coffee, ensuring full traceability back to the farm.
Cherry is selectively handpicked and then selectively sorted before being pulped. Coffee is fermented in fermentation tanks for 12 hours and washed in clean water to remove any remaining mucilage. Parchment is transferred to raised beds where it sundries. As it dries, parchment is turned regularly to ensure even drying.
To cater to 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 setup is highly unusual in Kenya, and the line makes it possible for growers to maintain their own ‘brand’ when selling their coffee.
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.