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

Best $79 deal ever - with breakfast. Outspan Hotel, Nyeri.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:01:07 -0800

George Howell
Best $79 deal ever - with breakfast. Outspan Hotel, Nyeri.

A view of the countryside from Kangocho Factory in the Nyeri district.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:01:47 -0800

George Howell
A view of the countryside from Kangocho Factory in the Nyeri district.

At the Kangocho Cooperative Factory small farmers sort their cherries. Only ripe cherry should be pulped for the best quality.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:02:58 -0800

George Howell
At the Kangocho Cooperative Factory small farmers sort their cherries. Only ripe cherry should be pulped for the best quality.

George Howell's photo

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:03:26 -0800

George Howell

Unripes and over-ripes are separated out.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:04:23 -0800

George Howell
Unripes and over-ripes are separated out.

The first cherries of the day go into the receiving tank from where they will drop through the outlet below to be depulped.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:03:10 -0800

George Howell
The first cherries of the day go into the receiving tank from where they will drop through the outlet below to be depulped.

Coffee cherries are released out of the receiving tank. Recycled water (from the fermentation and washing still to come) carries them towards the pulper disks.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:05:27 -0800

George Howell
Coffee cherries are released out of the receiving tank. Recycled water (from the fermentation and washing still to come) carries them towards the pulper disks.

This depulper has four disks stripping the fruit skins off. Everything then goes into a bath where what floats is removed as a lower grade and what sinks, being denser, continues on as the ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:05:11 -0800

George Howell
This depulper has four disks stripping the fruit skins off. Everything then goes into a bath where what floats is removed as a lower grade and what sinks, being denser, continues on as the ...

Floaters are poor quality and separated. Denser beans sink.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:06:33 -0800

George Howell
Floaters are poor quality and separated. Denser beans sink.

....The denser beans continue to the fermentation tank.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:07:11 -0800

George Howell
....The denser beans continue to the fermentation tank.

The beans are still coated in mucilage. Fermentation will allow easy removal with turbulent water.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:07:30 -0800

George Howell
The beans are still coated in mucilage. Fermentation will allow easy removal with turbulent water.

The beans go into the fermentation tank.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:07:52 -0800

George Howell
The beans go into the fermentation tank.

The fermentation tanks are under the blue roof. The beans will stay in one set of tanks overnight, for twelve hours. The next day they are washed with clean water, with wooden paddles and ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:02:29 -0800

George Howell
The fermentation tanks are under the blue roof. The beans will stay in one set of tanks overnight, for twelve hours. The next day they are washed with clean water, with wooden paddles and ...

Washing off the mucilage after 36 hours of fermentation. Wooden paddles go counter current, thus washing off the mucilage. With the use of water and barriers they separate different bean de ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:09:03 -0800

George Howell
Washing off the mucilage after 36 hours of fermentation. Wooden paddles go counter current, thus washing off the mucilage. With the use of water and barriers they separate different bean de ...

After being washed in the channel, the beans are soaked in very clean water for 24 hours or more, removing all fruit residue.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:09:38 -0800

George Howell
After being washed in the channel, the beans are soaked in very clean water for 24 hours or more, removing all fruit residue.

Soaking tank. If there is a holdup at the drying racks the beans can remain here at least another day without losing quality, so long as the water is changed.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:10:29 -0800

George Howell
Soaking tank. If there is a holdup at the drying racks the beans can remain here at least another day without losing quality, so long as the water is changed.

Stripped fruit will be used as mulch. The spent water is first recycled in the beginning stages of processing, as shown earlier. Afterwards it is kept in lagoons for long periods of time p ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:11:27 -0800

George Howell
Stripped fruit will be used as mulch. The spent water is first recycled in the beginning stages of processing, as shown earlier. Afterwards it is kept in lagoons for long periods of time p ...

Aerated conditioning bins, the last step in the drying process. Coffee enters these bins at about 14% moisture content, and loses another 3+% before stabilizing. Here, too, sorters have be ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:11:02 -0800

George Howell
Aerated conditioning bins, the last step in the drying process. Coffee enters these bins at about 14% moisture content, and loses another 3+% before stabilizing. Here, too, sorters have be ...

Blast from the past! Kangocho won 1st place in the Coffee Connection competition in 1993. I was the first to sign their guest book.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:30:48 -0800

George Howell
Blast from the past! Kangocho won 1st place in the Coffee Connection competition in 1993. I was the first to sign their guest book.

Scenes on the road: police inspections are fairly common. Would love to be in on the conversation!

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:19:56 -0800

George Howell
Scenes on the road: police inspections are fairly common. Would love to be in on the conversation!

Small farmers grow coffee (dark green) and tea (bright green) on slopes side by side.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:12:13 -0800

George Howell
Small farmers grow coffee (dark green) and tea (bright green) on slopes side by side.

This is Central Kenya Coffee Mills (CKCM), brand new and in the heart of coffee growing country.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:19:06 -0800

George Howell
This is Central Kenya Coffee Mills (CKCM), brand new and in the heart of coffee growing country.

CKCM prepares the coffee for market. It cleans parchment coffee of all foreign matter, then hulls away the parchment (skin), sorts the beans by size and by density and then bags them.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:18:43 -0800

George Howell
CKCM prepares the coffee for market. It cleans parchment coffee of all foreign matter, then hulls away the parchment (skin), sorts the beans by size and by density and then bags them.

CKCM's cupping lab monitors quality. CKCM also offers agricultural supports for farmers. The introduction of such mills in coffee country and of competing services should help improve farm ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:19:33 -0800

George Howell
CKCM's cupping lab monitors quality. CKCM also offers agricultural supports for farmers. The introduction of such mills in coffee country and of competing services should help improve farm ...

We pass by a cooperative small farmer coffee factory below - on the road. These "factories" dot the countryside. A single cooperative may have several such factories, each one within walki ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:11:52 -0800

George Howell
We pass by a cooperative small farmer coffee factory below - on the road. These "factories" dot the countryside. A single cooperative may have several such factories, each one within walki ...

Tea and coffee fields.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:12:42 -0800

George Howell
Tea and coffee fields.

Speaks for itself....

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:13:17 -0800

George Howell
Speaks for itself....

Because of low world prices, past (hopefully) endemic corruption, and poor agricultural practices many farmers barely keep their trees alive. Today Kenya produces less than half what it did ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:15:56 -0800

George Howell
Because of low world prices, past (hopefully) endemic corruption, and poor agricultural practices many farmers barely keep their trees alive. Today Kenya produces less than half what it did ...

Back in the 1980's, I believe, shade trees were removed from coffee farms in an effort to increase production. This may have worked for well funded estates but for small farmers it has been ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:17:55 -0800

George Howell
Back in the 1980's, I believe, shade trees were removed from coffee farms in an effort to increase production. This may have worked for well funded estates but for small farmers it has been ...

Shade trees reduce the coffee trees' need for fertilizers and other costly inputs.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:18:26 -0800

George Howell
Shade trees reduce the coffee trees' need for fertilizers and other costly inputs.

Kahindu Cooperative Factory. Two banks of fermentation tanks under roofs are seen here. People are hand sorting newly washed coffee beans at the drying racks. These "manicures" take place ...

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:13:44 -0800

George Howell
Kahindu Cooperative Factory. Two banks of fermentation tanks under roofs are seen here. People are hand sorting newly washed coffee beans at the drying racks. These "manicures" take place ...

Agricultural diversity around Kahindu. Lowest grade coffees are visible at bottom right of this photo. The lowest grade is consumed at origin. Better exportable qualities are to the left.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:14:46 -0800

George Howell
Agricultural diversity around Kahindu. Lowest grade coffees are visible at bottom right of this photo. The lowest grade is consumed at origin. Better exportable qualities are to the left.

Cooperative meeting. The discussions were lively.

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:17:15 -0800

George Howell
Cooperative meeting. The discussions were lively.

George Howell's photo

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:16:35 -0800

George Howell

Back to Nairobi!

nobody@smugmug.com (George Howell) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:20:32 -0800

George Howell
Back to Nairobi!