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Kenya November 2007 Galleries

Kenya Coffee Visit, Coffee Estates, Part 1 of 3, Nov. 2007 : I visited Kenya this late November for the first time since 1993 when I ran The Coffee Connection. It is the first of many visits to come. I was in Kenya for an intense four days. These photos were taken with a camera in one hand and note-taking in the other. They are shot through a moving car's windshield, at locations where time did not permit any preparation and often at less than ideal photo-opportunity times. For those interested in coffee, and in Kenya coffee in particular, I hope these shots will provide some interest. I plan to return soon and build on these photos as well as my knowledge! My special thanks to Jeremy Block, Bridget Carrington, Kit Gulliver, Martin Ngare, Philip Kamau, Michael Gitau and Walter and Patrick Mathagu for their time and valuable input! George Howell

Kenya Coffee Visit, Coffee Estates, Part 1 of 3, Nov. 2007

I visited Kenya this late November for the first time since 1993 when I ran The Coffee Connection. It is the first of many visits to come. I was in Kenya for an intense four days. These photos were taken with a camera in one hand and note-taking in the other. They are shot through a moving car's windshield, at locations where time did ...

Updated: Dec 19, 2007 6:10am PST

Kenya Coffee Visit, Mamuto Farm, Part 2 of 3 : We first introduced Mamuto last year in September, 2006. I believe it was the best lot auctioned in Kenya that year (all Kenyan coffee lots were auctioned through 2006; this year the system was “liberalized,” permitting direct sales as well as auction coffee). In November it received Coffee Review’s first-ever score over 95. We now have Mamuto’s best lot from the most recent harvest, November-December of 2006. We purchased this lot directly and without hesitation; it was, again, the most outstanding lot we tried this past buying season and we always cup the cream of the crop! Mamuto grows at 5,000 feet elevation in the district of Kirinyaga, beneath the slopes of the usually overcast seventeen thousand plus foot Mt. Kenya, looming above to the north. The soil is a deep red-orange volcanic loam in a very gentle undulating terrain. The owner, Walter Paul Mathagu, was an agricultural officer serving the government of Kenya for seventeen years before retiring in 1987. During that time Mrs. Mathagu managed the farm (when I visited their farm last week, she was in Nairobi and so I was not able to meet her). He has thus been able to provide much skill and knowledge to developing the coffee trees on his farm. Taking inspiration from their family Mr. Mathagu explained to me that he and his wife named the farm by combining the first two letters from three words: his name, Mathagu, as the father; Muthoni, his wife’s maiden name, as mother; and toto, meaning child or children in Swahili: thus Mamuto. Mr. and Mrs. Mathagu have six children - three boys, three girls. Besides coffee the Mathagus maintain a herd of dairy cattle and grow bananas, maize, beans and macadamia on their 21 acre farm. Thirteen acres are dedicated to coffee. Farmer: Walter Paul and Muthoni Mathagu Region: Kirinyaga Altitude: 5,000 ft. Rainfall: Low to moderate+ Soil: Volcanic loam Arabica variety: 95% Bourbon SL 28 and SL 34, 5% Ruiru 11 Size of Farm: 21 acres total; 13 acres of coffee

Kenya Coffee Visit, Mamuto Farm, Part 2 of 3

We first introduced Mamuto last year in September, 2006. I believe it was the best lot auctioned in Kenya that year (all Kenyan coffee lots were auctioned through 2006; this year the system was “liberalized,” permitting direct sales as well as auction coffee). In November it received Coffee Review’s first-ever score over 95. We n ...

Updated: Dec 19, 2007 6:11am PST

Kenya Coffee Visit, Small Farmers Cooperatives, Part 3 of 3 : This third section covers my visits to some of the great small farm cooperative "factories", as they are unromantically called in Kenya (called beneficios in Latin America). Factories are where the coffee beans, seeds really, are thoroughly stripped of all fruit and then dried until stable and ready for storage/transportation. This processing is very time consuming and labor intensive, particularly so for fine coffees. Approximately 1000 farmers use a factory, as a very general rule of thumb. A cooperative society often operates several such factories. Farmers belonging to such cooperatives typically have an acre or less of land and about 500 trees with each tree producing far less than 1 pound of roasted coffee. They also typically grow tea and other products for the local markets. Since these farms are so small and each family's subsistence is at stake hired labor is not a factor and qualities can be extraordinary - as long as farmers are given any opportunity at all. This was not the case, thanks to rank corruption, until perhaps recently. Many signs are pointing in the right direction. I visited Kangocho and Kahindu on the same day. Both factories were very familiar to me since in the days of The Coffee Connection they had produced amazing qualities. It was a thrill to once again offer their coffees. The harvest was still just getting started and so activity was limited (next year I will go a bit later!).

Kenya Coffee Visit, Small Farmers Cooperatives, Part 3 of 3

This third section covers my visits to some of the great small farm cooperative "factories", as they are unromantically called in Kenya (called beneficios in Latin America). Factories are where the coffee beans, seeds really, are thoroughly stripped of all fruit and then dried until stable and ready for storage/transportation. This proc ...

Updated: Dec 19, 2007 6:11am PST