Kenya Coffee

Explore by region

• Murang'a

  The Murang’a coffee growing region lies within Kenya’s Central Province. Nestled in the country’s interior, far inland from the coast, it is a world of verdant hills, hidden valleys, abundant rain and yes, coffee. Most farms are small, and growers tend their coffee along with food crops, bringing their harvested cherries to their local cooperative mills for processing. Home to the Kikuyu people, missionaries came to this area in the 1800’s when the Portuguese would not allow them to settle on the coast.

  Coffee, tea, and cattle form the backbone of Murang’a’s economy. Macadamia nuts are grown here as well, dairies have their own cooperatives, and Murang’a’s quarries produce building stones, bricks, and sand, all income sources for local residents.

  Murang'a

• Thika Plateau

  In Kenya’s central highlands east of the great Rift Valley lies the coffee growing region of Kiambu, Kenya, of which Thika is a sub-region. Here at the foothills of the Aberdare ridge, soils are red, volcanic, and rich in organic matter. Due to the temperate climate and friendly rainfall (some say Kiambu means “place of drizzles”), coffee farmers enjoy two harvests. The lighter “Fly” crop comes in May-July, while the heavier main crop ripens September-December.

  There are some large coffee estates in the Kiambu region, but small holders and their cooperative organizations are alive and well, each with their own processing mills (sometimes called factories), offering growers a better option than selling their cherries through the large operations. Instead, they bring them to their own mills for processing, and are able to obtain a fair price for them at auction.

  Thika Plateau

• Kiambu

  In Kenya’s central highlands east of the great Rift Valley lies the coffee growing region of Kiambu, Kenya. Here at the foothills of the Aberdare ridge, soils are red, volcanic, and rich in organic matter. Due to the temperate climate and friendly rainfall (some say Kiambu means “place of drizzles”), coffee farmers enjoy two harvests. The lighter “Fly” crop comes in May-July, while the heavier main crop ripens September-December.

  Coffees from Kiambu are most often named for the areas within the region--i.e. Thika, Limuru, Ruiru. Much of Kiambu is composed of large estates with an eye to quantity production. That said, small holders and their cooperative organizations are alive and well, offering growers a better option than selling their cherries through the large operations. Instead, they bring them to their own mills for processing, and are able to obtain a fair price for them at auction.

  Kiambu

• Nyeri

  Coffee from the Nyeri District is sometimes referred to as “the heart of Black Gold Coffee” due to the intensity of flavor packed into slow-developing, very dense beans. Grown in the highlands between the eastern base of the Aberdare Range and the western slopes of Mt Kenya in young volcanic soil, and blessed by strategic rainfall, beans develop a classic balanced Kenyan taste profile: fresh fruitiness, crisp citrus, bright and balanced acidity.

  Part of Kenya’s rich agricultural sector, the Nyeri region became UTZ certified in 2008, and since then, there has been a tremendous improvement in coffee quality. Smallholders rather than large estates are most common, and most growers belong to cooperative organizations which own processing mills to which members can bring their harvested cherries.

  Nyeri

• Rungeto

  Coffee first came to the Rungeto area in the 1950’s. As is true in all of life, growers experienced highs and lows including the rise of the giant Ngiriama Cooperative and its eventual demise. In 1996, 1,150 members of the defunct Ngiriama Co-op came together to form the Rungeto Cooperative Society, and soon re-opened Ngiriama’s three factories (processings mills), Kii (built in 1965), Karimikui (1968), and Kaingoi (1995). Member growers bring their coffees to the mills for fresh water processing courtesy of the Kii River.

  Rugeto Co-op is governed by seven board members, two of whom are elected from each mill plus one rotational member. Thanks to the excellent work of the member growers and governing board, in December 2009, Kiangoi factory earned UTZ Centre of Excellence certification.

  Rungeto

• Kirinyaga

  Coffee from the Kirinyaga region of Kenya flourishes in rich, volcanic soil and after selective picking, is processed in fresh water from the Kii River. Full of sweet complex flavors, lively acidity, and rich velvet body, specialty lots of Kirinyaga coffees carry a distinct terroir that some call classic Kenyan flavor. Here the climate is very like a European summer and much of the coffee grows in the shade of towering overstory.

  Kirinyaga has both smallholders and medium-sized farms, some of which have their own processing equipment. For those that don’t, wet mills are accessible at local cooperative sites. Co-op member farmers can utilize any mill they choose, and unlike many coffee producing nations, Kenya’s traditional auction system rewards higher quality with higher prices, creating incentive for excellence both in coffee cultivation and processing.

  Kirinyaga

• Nakuru

  In the center of Kenya we find the Nakuru region, named after the city of Nakuru. Coffee farming in this region has much room for growth. Currently, it contains only nine washing stations to which farmers bring their cherries for processing, quite a small number compared to other coffee growing regions such as Kiambu, which has nearly 100. This lack of development is due partly to a later establishment of coffee growing in the region.

  Furthermore, while the soil here is great for coffee, growing conditions are tough, since Nakuru boasts some of the highest-growing coffees in Kenya. This elevation coupled with the county’s remoteness means that coffee trees don’t always thrive, and farmers contend with “dieback.” Coffee is grown mostly by smallholders and a few larger estates, and production is relatively small. However, the flavor is immense and classicly Kenyan--loaded with complex berries and fruit, bright acidity, and intense sweetness.

  Nakuru

• Embu

  Laying on the land in the shape of a giant stingray with its snout pointing up the south-eastern slope of mighty Mt. Kenya, the Embu coffee region upholds the reputation of the brilliancy of Kenyan coffees. Offerings grown here tend to carry notes of dark fruits and berries with hints of chocolate and browned sugars along with rounded, balanced citrus acidity and full body. In a perfect trifecta of natural endowments beloved by coffee trees, the red volcanic soil is rich in nutrients, altitudes range from 1200-1800 MASL, and abundant rainfall helps Embu produce approximately 900,000 kgs per year of coffee.

  Adjacent to the Kirinyaga coffee region’s eastern side, Embu county’s local ethnicities are mostly Embu, Kamba, and Mbeere people groups, 88% of whom find their livelihood in agricultural pursuits. Legislation here is increasingly favorable to coffee producers, working to make direct trade and incentives for high quality coffee more and more common.

  Embu