Brian Hockenhull, who runs Toast! coffee shop and wine bar in Delph Business Centre, talks about the world of coffee and introduces you to their Coffee of the Month.For more information, phone 01457 820 270, visit their website or find them on Facebook
THIS MONTH we look to Kenya for a really distinctive coffee. Despite its proximity to Ethiopia (widely believed to be the region from which coffee originated), coffee was not cultivated in Kenya until 1893, when French Holy Ghost Fathers introduced coffee trees from Reunion Island.
The coffee industry in Kenya is noted for its co-operative system of production, processing, milling, marketing, and auction system.
About 70 per cent of Kenyan coffee is produced by small-scale holders. In 2012 there were about 150,000 coffee farmers in Kenya and other estimates are that six million Kenyans were employed directly or indirectly in the coffee industry.
The acidic soil in highlands of central Kenya, with just the right amount of sunlight and rainfall provide excellent conditions for growing coffee plants.
The coffee is of the ‘Colombia mild’ type, and is well known for its intense flavour, full body, and pleasant aroma with notes of cocoa. High-grade coffee from Kenya is one of the most sought-after in the world.
The Ther’I factory is situated in Murarandia and is currently affiliated to the New Murarandia Farmers Co-Op Society. There are 650 active members.
These small-holder members each have on average around 1 acre of land for coffee growing alongside macadamia, beans, bananas and maize.
The area has rich and fertile red volcanic soil at altitudes of 1850 metres above sea level. The smallholder members have access to training and technical advice along with advance payments for farm inputs.
The coffee itself has a really pleasant aroma, and is surprisingly full bodied for a Kenyan coffee, well-balanced but quite intense really. There is a sweetness with quite intense lemon and orange flavours, a hint of tomato and rhubarb. A full-on taste sensation.
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