Cianda, Kenya

With nearly 700,000 coffee producers, roughly 70% of which are smallholder producers, Kenya shines as a unique coffee-producing country in East Africa. Within the Nyeri County is the Chinga Coffee Factory, belonging to the Othaya Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS). In Kenya, factories are essentially wet mills and collection points for coffee.

The Cianda Estate was founded in 1928 and is located in Kiambu County, Central Kenya, approximately 25 kilometers north of Nairobi.

Situated at roughly 1,795 meters above sea level, the region where the Factory is located is defined by its bright red soils, full of rich nutrients for coffee trees. The high altitude allows for ideal temperatures and rainfall for the slow maturation of coffee cherries. Producers will add manure, compost, coffee pulp and green manure to enrich their soil.

After the ripe cherries are harvested by hand, they are delivered to the wet mill located within the Estate. Once the cherries reach the mill, they are sorted and then dispersed on raised beds. The cherries remain here to dry in the open sun for 2 – 4 weeks, or until the moisture content reaches 12 – 13%. In order to prevent the growth of mold, the cherries are regularly raked, which also ensures an even drying. NH, or Natural Heavy, refers to naturally processed coffee screen 15 and above.

This lot was sourced by our exporting partner, Kenya Co-operative Coffee Exporters Limited (KCCE), which was founded in June of 2009. The creation of the KCCE was supported by the government in response to the vital need for coffee producers in Kenya to have more control over the marketing of their coffee in order to increase income. The organization was thus formed to address the many challenges smallholders face in Kenya with its main goal to assist with processing, promoting, and marketing the coffee from these producers. By providing technical and advisory services to producers, they are able to help them increase production and quality, which will improve revenue. With more income, producers are thus able to invest more in their farms and communities.

Farm: Cianda Estate
Town: Kiambu
Region: Central Kenya
Farm Size: 100 hectares
Area Under Coffee: 70 hectares