History

Coffee as a comodity has a very rich and ancient history dating back to 13th century and today it is one of the most valuable legally traded comodity in the world. Today it is estimated that about 2.5 billion cups of coffee is consumed everyday worldwide.

Discovery of Coffee

As for many edible comodities and drinks, their existence is known to have been there for centuries but, coffee’s beginnngs is enveloped in mystery and lore. It is surrounded around ancient myths amd legends.

One such legend is that of a goat herder named Kaldi, who noticed the long lasting and energising effects of the red berries after his goats ate from the trees. Kaldi decided to try the berries himself and he to had similar effects.

Amazed by the disovery, he decided to take the berries to a nearby worship place and introduced the berries to the head of the worship place. The head however refuted the claim and threw the berries away in a nearby fireplace.

Amazed by the disovery, he decided to take the berries to a nearby worship place and introduced the berries to the head of the worship place. The head however refuted the claim and threw the berries away in a nearby fireplace.

After some time the room was filled with a sweet sensual and captivating aroma from the fireplae and the head asked for the the berries from the fire and orderd tht water be filled to preserve the scent. Upon drinking the mixture, it had a calming sensation with warmt and peace, its effects lasted long and allowed them to have longer concentration time.

The disovery and knowlege of the berries was shared and spread throughout the world and this was the beginning of coffee.

Evolution of Coffee

By the 15th century, coffee had spread to the Arabian peninsula, and it became a beverage enjoyed both at home and at qahvah khaneh (public coffee house). These coffee houses became huge hubs for the community where you could not just go to drink a cup of coffee but also engage in conversation and enjoy live performances.

By the 17th century, coffee had reached Europe and had was replaced as the morning beverage.

By the late 1800, coffee became a worldwide consumed comodity and its demand continued to grow till this day.

A tradition that continued to grow and even today we find ourselves at local coffee bistros and coffee houses for just a normal conversation, a date, some alone time or a casual business meeting

After some time the room was filled with a sweet sensual and captivating aroma from the fireplae and the head asked for the the berries from the fire and orderd tht water be filled to preserve the scent. Upon drinking the mixture, it had a calming sensation with warmt and peace, its effects lasted long and allowed them to have longer concentration time.

The disovery and knowlege of the berries was shared and spread throughout the world and this was the beginning of coffee.

Kenyan Coffee

Kenyan coffee is respected and known for its quality world wide, but how did Kenya earn its stellar coffee reputation?

It all boils down to its geography, labour and historical introduction of this special berry.

Kenya has had the perfect ideal conditions to grow top quality coffee - the soil is rich with volcanic minerals and nutrients, the weather is mild and wet, and the high altitudes make for a longer growing season.

Kenya has had the perfect ideal conditions to grow top quality coffee - the soil is rich with volcanic minerals and nutrients, the weather is mild and wet, and the high altitudes make for a longer growing season.

Kenya was a British colony (East Africa Protectorate) at the time, in which the British saw an opportunity to cultivate coffee in East Africa. By 1900, the country had about 50 coffee plantations, but it was not commercial yet. By 1930, there was a small but thriving coffee industry owned by the European settlers. Since then the industry has continued to grow and today more than 6 million Kenyans make their livelihood in the coffee sector.

Production

Kenyan coffee has been grown for over a century now (1893-present).It is estimated that Kenyan coffee grown on over 160,000 hectares of land with a production of over 1 million bags of coffee per year.

Processing

To ensure the best quality, we use the wet method for processing our coffee. We pick the red, ripe berries from the fields, sort and pulp the berries to remove the outer skin.

The mucilage is then removed during the fermantation process that takes about 36 hours. The coffee is then sun dried and bagged ready to be sent to the mills for grading.

Grades available

We have about 7 different grades of coffee. Our coffee is graded based on numerical reference systen on a scale of 1-10, size, botanical variety, bean density, apperance, defects and cup quality

Our coffee grades include:

• PB - fully formed cherry containing a single bean
• AA - Large bean (7.2mm)
• AB - Combination of A and B (6.8mm)
• C - Smaller than B
• E - The largest beans
• TT -Light beans removed from the air blowing process from higher grades
• T - Smallest beans, mostly broken beans.
• Mbuni - This type hasnt gone through the wet process (unwashed).

As some of the world’s finest gourmet coffees, Kenyan coffees are carefully graded after harvest. The coffee beans are separated (sorted) and rated by bean size as well as shape, color, and density, with the general assumption being that bigger coffee beans are higher in quality. The largest and best coffee beans from Kenya are graded Kenya AA.

A general rules with Kenya coffee beans is that bigger beans have more essential oils that enhance the tastes and aromas.

In reality, grading and classification systems are usually based on some, or all, of the following criteria. Invariably this means that most systems are often very detailed and diverse, and open to confusion and mis-interpretation regarding the ‘transferibility’ of certain descriptions and terminologies between producing countries. These factors include:- Altitude, region, botanical variety, preparation method (wet vs dry), bean (screen) size, bean shape and colour, number of defects, permissible defects, bean density and cup quality

Other factors are also important in determining the beans’ quality, and cuppers (professional coffee tasters) debate whether bean size necessarily means a better quality of roasted, ground, brewed Kenyan coffee. Nevertheless, sorting is done by size, and the screen size Kenya AA is the highest sorting beans just over one-fourth inch in diameter. A bit smaller is the Kenyan AB grade, which is regarded by some as a better bean than the AA. Grade E or Elephant grade coffee beans are the largest grade of Kenyan beans. This category includes Kenya PB or Kenya Peaberry beans and Kenya AA beans. Kenya AA beans are the largest Kenya coffee beans money can buy.