Kilimanjaro Specialty Coffees
  • What We Do
  • Que Hacemos
  • Origins
    • Ethiopia >
      • Ethiopia Duromina
      • Ethiopia Gure Dako
      • Ethiopia Biftu Gudina
      • Ethiopia Hunda Oli
    • Kenya >
      • Kenya Karatina AB
      • Kenya Kaguyu AB
      • Kenya Giakanja AB
      • Kenya Kiangombe AA
      • Kenya Kamuchege AA
      • Kenya Bungoma AB
      • Kenya Nyeri AB
      • Kenya Murarandia PB
      • Kenya Kiunyu AB
      • Kenya Githembe AB
      • Kenya Kabete AB
      • Kenya Kagumoini AA
      • Kenya Kiandu AA
    • Rwanda >
      • Rwanda Vunga Lot 3A
      • Rwanda Kilimbi Natural
      • Rwanda Rugali Natural
  • Orígenes
    • Etiopía >
      • Etiopía Duromina
      • Etiopía Gure Dako
      • Etiopía Biftu Gudina
      • Etiopía Hunda Oli
    • Kenia >
      • Kenia Karatina AB
      • Kenia Kaguyu AB
      • Kenia Giakanja AB
      • Kenia Kiangombe AA
      • Kenia Kamuchege AA
      • Kenia Bungoma AB
      • Kenia Nyeri AB
      • Kenia Murarandia PB
      • Kenia Kiunyu AB
      • Kenia Githembe AB
      • Kenia Kabete AB
      • Kenia Kagumoini AA
      • Kenia Kiandu AA
    • Ruanda >
      • Ruanda Vunga Lot 3A
      • Ruanda Kilimbi Natural
      • Ruanda Rugali Natural
  • Education
  • Educación
  • Contact
  • Contacto
  • Home Roaster Corner
    • Green Coffee
    • Cupping Tools
  • Rincón del Home Roaster
    • Café Verde
    • Artículos de Cata
spanish

WHY KENYAN FARMERS ARE GRAFTING RUIRU 11 WITH SL 28?

5/24/2022

0 Comments

 
Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby plant tissues are joined together to continue growing together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the stem, while the lower part is called the rootstock.
Picture
​The Ruiru 11 variety was released in 1985. The name of the variety has the prefix "Ruiru" which refers to the location of the Kenya Coffee Research Station where the variety was developed. The variety is not only resistant to CBD and CLR, but is also compact, allowing farmers to intensify production per unit of land.

Read More
0 Comments

KENYA'S 5 STEPS TOWARDS QUALITY

4/26/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​It is frequently pointed out that Kenyan coffees are the best in the world. Also, that its cup profile is unique and that it must always be within certain parameters (blackcurrant, berries, winey, juicy), or else it would not be a good example of a good Kenyan coffee. It seems that the industry has preconceptions about what is a good coffee, and what flavors should be obtained from a certain origin; as if the production of coffee were an exact formula, similar to a highly efficient factory where economies of scale are generated and from which the same result is always obtained.

Read More
0 Comments

WHAT DOES "HEIRLOOM" MEANS?

4/2/2019

0 Comments

 
According to the Cambridge dictionary, the word "Heirloom" has the following meanings:

1.- valuable object that older members of a family have given to younger members of the same family for many years.
2.- a fruit, plant or seed of a type, which has existed for many years.
Picture
From a botanical point of view, the definition of an heirloom variety establishes that this must be open-pollinated. Arabica coffee is a self-pollinated crop, so from the very beginning the definition of heirloom doesn’t apply to Arabica coffee.

Read More
0 Comments

UNKNOWN HEROES OF THE GENETIC DIVERSITY OF ARABICAS

1/16/2019

0 Comments

 
Kenya is probably one of the most advanced producing countries, in the study and experimentation with the genetic diversity of Arabicas, and is far ahead of important countries such as Ethiopia for example.
Picture
​On our last trip to Kenya we met the great "Dr. James", who works at the "Kenya Coffee Research Institute" station in Nyeri. In this place, he explained, how they are performing grafting of Ruiru 11 with SL 28, and the importance of its result for the future of the industry.

Read More
0 Comments

THE GREEN REVOLUTION: the Kenya Kabunyeria case

8/9/2018

0 Comments

 
During the 1960s, to increase the food production around the world, and meet the demands of an extremely quick expanding population, it became imperative to change the methodologies of agriculture.​
Picture
​These initiatives were called "The Green Revolution" and involved the use of high yielding varieties, higher fertilizers dosages, intensive and mono cropping, the development of highly toxic and life damaging pesticides, among others.

Read More
0 Comments

Why Kiambu should be as important as its neighbours?

5/31/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Kenya is divided into 47 counties, and in only 18 coffee is produced.

Nyeri and Kirinyaga are definitely the most popular counties for traders and roasters in origin. As a consequence of the above, they are also the ones that obtain the highest prices in the auctions of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
​So the million dollar question is: why Kiambu does not have the same relevance as its neighbors in the specialty coffee market?

And the answer is not as obvious as you might think.
Picture
​If we analyze the type of cultivars used in the three counties, we find that the most common cultivated varietes (between 90 and 95%) are SL28 and SL34, which are as we have said, the ones that produce the best quality in the cup.

Let's look at the altitude, the average range of altitude in the cultivated areas is higher in Kiambu with 1860masl, followed by Nyeri with 1760m and Kirinyaga with 1605m.

Rain patterns. In the three counties are also similar, there are bimodal rain patterns which brings two wet seasons a year (therefore 2 flowerings and two harvests a year), with annual rainfall averages of 953 mm for Nyeri, 1098 mm for Kiambu and 1518 mm for Kirinyaga .

The composition of the soils is similar in all three counties. They are all red volcanic soils, rich in nutrients and organic matter.

And the processing method, exactly the same, fully washed process with double fermentation and sundried on African beds.
Picture
​The only fundamental difference lies in the annual production of smallholders (who are the ones that produce the microlots we are all seeking for) and their respective cooperatives. Nyeri being the first of the country with 6630 Tons., which represents 21% of the total production, second is Kirinyaga with 5870 Tons., representing an 18.5% and sixth is Kiambu with 2560 Tons., representing a 8% of the total country. (Statistics provided by the Kenya Coffee Board for 2012)

From the above we can conclude that the success of the "trademark" Nyeri and Kirinyaga in detriment of Kiambu, is due exclusively to a matter of quantity and therefore overexposure in international markets, and not to the potential to produce quality. From a macro perspective, the various factors influencing high quality production are virtually identical in all three counties.

To finish, just say that it is undeniable that in Nyeri and Kirinyaga there are exceptional lots, but they are also in Kiambu; It's just a matter of seek, discover and blind cupping!

Enjoy your coffee ... from Kiambu
Picture
0 Comments

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016

    Categories

    All
    Africa
    Altitude
    Burundi
    Capitalism
    Climate Change
    Coffee Fermentation
    Coffee Industry
    Coffee Processing
    Coffee Shop
    Cultivars
    Cupping
    Density
    Ethiopia
    Fair Trade
    Flavor
    Genetic Diversity
    Giling Basah
    Hand-sorting
    Harvest
    History Of Coffee
    Indonesia
    Kenya
    Logistic
    Microlot
    Moisture Content
    Nairobi Coffee Exchange
    Oromos
    Price
    Quality
    Recycling
    Renaissance
    Revolution
    Roasting
    Rwanda
    Samples
    Sensorial Experience
    Shipping
    Specialty Coffee
    Sumatra
    Sustainability
    Tanzania
    Traceability
    Uganda
    Washed Process
    Water Activity
    Wet Hulled
    Yeast
    Yemen

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2022 | Kilimanjaro Specialty Coffees España S.L.U. All Rights Reserved.
  • What We Do
  • Que Hacemos
  • Origins
    • Ethiopia >
      • Ethiopia Duromina
      • Ethiopia Gure Dako
      • Ethiopia Biftu Gudina
      • Ethiopia Hunda Oli
    • Kenya >
      • Kenya Karatina AB
      • Kenya Kaguyu AB
      • Kenya Giakanja AB
      • Kenya Kiangombe AA
      • Kenya Kamuchege AA
      • Kenya Bungoma AB
      • Kenya Nyeri AB
      • Kenya Murarandia PB
      • Kenya Kiunyu AB
      • Kenya Githembe AB
      • Kenya Kabete AB
      • Kenya Kagumoini AA
      • Kenya Kiandu AA
    • Rwanda >
      • Rwanda Vunga Lot 3A
      • Rwanda Kilimbi Natural
      • Rwanda Rugali Natural
  • Orígenes
    • Etiopía >
      • Etiopía Duromina
      • Etiopía Gure Dako
      • Etiopía Biftu Gudina
      • Etiopía Hunda Oli
    • Kenia >
      • Kenia Karatina AB
      • Kenia Kaguyu AB
      • Kenia Giakanja AB
      • Kenia Kiangombe AA
      • Kenia Kamuchege AA
      • Kenia Bungoma AB
      • Kenia Nyeri AB
      • Kenia Murarandia PB
      • Kenia Kiunyu AB
      • Kenia Githembe AB
      • Kenia Kabete AB
      • Kenia Kagumoini AA
      • Kenia Kiandu AA
    • Ruanda >
      • Ruanda Vunga Lot 3A
      • Ruanda Kilimbi Natural
      • Ruanda Rugali Natural
  • Education
  • Educación
  • Contact
  • Contacto
  • Home Roaster Corner
    • Green Coffee
    • Cupping Tools
  • Rincón del Home Roaster
    • Café Verde
    • Artículos de Cata