KENYA OGCV PROJECT COFFEE Location: Kangema District in Muguru and Iyego location in Central Kenya. The wet mills are located in the range of 1’700 to 2’000 meters above sea level Coffee Varieties Arabica SL28, SL34 and less than 5% Ruiru11. Average cherry production for the last three years. Flowering Early crop - which counts for 10% of the yield - flowers in October and is harvested in the month of June: Late crop - which counts 90% of the crop - flowers in the month of April and the peak harvest period is December. Factory Name (wet mill)
Number of Active members 972 912 736 368 2,988
Iyego Marimira Mununga Gathima Total kg of green Bean (1:7) Note: This cooperative has ten
2007/08 Kg cherry
2008/09 Kg cherry
2009/10 Kg cherry
Average for 3 years
206,985 186,151 117,068 102,517 612,712
474,318 322,286 240,300 286,556 1,323,460
266,594 255,227 149,091 123,178 794,090
315,966 254,555 168,820 170,750 910,072 130,010.
wet mills but the project would be initiated on the first four wet
mills with hope of expanding it to the rest when funds are available.
The average production for the cooperative in the last three years is as indicated below.
Cherry production in the past three years (kg)
Farmers Cooperative Society
Average green 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 for 3 years coffee
Iyego
1,058,748
1,238,983
1,325,749
1,541,160
220,166
Early crop 44,033
The wet Processing of the coffee
This is a farmers cooperative society as such they process their coffee from a central wet mill and then it’s sent to commercial dry miller for milling.
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Wet Processing- Cherry is pulped to remove the outer fruit pulp, fermented, washed and then dried.
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late crop 176,133
3.3.1 Wet Processing This is the most common process in Kenya. It involves several stages: •
Pulping This is the process of removing the skin (epicarp) together with some of the mucilage (mesocarp). The operation releases the beans still covered by parchment (endocarp) and several layers of mucilage. It is done with machines called Aagard mackinon pulpers (most common in kenya 95%). The machine consists of discs mounted on a horizontal rotating shaft. Coffee cherry is fed with plenty of water between the rotating discs and an inclined bar fitted with a plough piece (breast), both of these being adjustable. Cherry is squeezed and the skins are drawn by the knobs cast on the revolving discs, and thrown out of the back of the back of the pulper, and the beans are propelled out of the front. It is important to note that, due to the different sizes of cherries coming from the field, pregrading is done. This is where an oscillating sieve separates pulped beans from unpulped cherry which is then repassed.
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Pregrading Most disc pulpers require a pregrader and a repasser, usually a further one disc pulper to repulp the few berries which did not get pulped in the first pass. The pregrader is usually an oscillating sieve which separates heavy beans from light beans based on their density, and also conveys some of the skins which escape the pulper into the repasser.
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Fermentation This is a process of breaking down the mucilage. This is done by heaping perchment coffee in the fermentation tanks without water and leaving it for 16 to 40 hours depending on the temperatures, altitude and type of coffee.
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Washing-Grading After fermentation, coffee is emptied into a washing channel where it is washed to the remaining mucilage, skins and for final grading purposes. The grading is done by pushing back cherry with battens so as to stir it. Lighter beans float on top of water while heavier coffee sinks at the bottom of the channel. Heavier beans remain behind while “lights”, dirt, skins and broken beans float down the channel in that order. The heavy coffee and light coffee are directed into different tanks after grading.
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Soaking This is done by soaking coffee in clean water for approximately 24 hours. This further bleaches the parchment and removes some of the soluble solids from the bean, including caffeine, which will further reduce sourness and bring out the mild character of the liquor.
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3.3.2
Drying This is the process of reducing the moisture content of the parchment coffee to a level that is suitable for storage. There are several stages of drying: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Wet parchment Skin dried coffee White stage coffee Soft black stage Medium black stage Hard black stage Dry coffee
55% M.C (Moisture content) 45% M.C (Moisture content) 45% to 35% M.C 33% to 22% M.C 22% to 16% M.C 16% to 11% M.C 11% to 10% M.C
Skin drying is done in the sun on skin drying tables down to 45% moisture content. This stage must be done as fast as possible to prevent the development of undesirable flavors such as “onion� flavor. This step could be overlooked using the new shade nets used on drying tables. They are plastic in nature and wet parchment can be put on the drying table from the washing channels. After this, coffee is transferred into permanent drying tables, where the rest of the stages of drying take place. At night when rains threaten, coffee is gathered in the middle of the table and covered and covered on top with a sheet of plastic material. At times of bad weather, during flush picking or in case of congestion for any reason, coffee can be taken to the store, and provided it has reached the black stage and can be turned daily on a wooden floor, it can be kept in the store for a month or more without any adverse effect. In the store it should be kept in ventilated holding bins to prevent mustiness and development of moulds. Coffee being dried on the drying tables must be stirred constantly to facilitate even drying. 3.4 Coffee Storage Once coffee is fully dry (11 to 10%), it is stored in reconditioning bins before it is delivered to the millers who do secondary processing. This allows the moisture content to even out and frees the drying tables to accommodate newly pulped coffee.
At the mills the parchment skin surrounding each bean is removed followed by mechanical grading of the coffee into seven (7) separate grades according to size, weight and shape of the bean. Currently there are 7 licensed commercial coffee mills and several private mills.
PB
Round beans usually one in a cherry.
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AA
Large beans (&.20 mm screen)
AB
This grade is a combination of A and B (6.80 mm screen)
C
Smaller bean than B
E
Elephants. The largest beans.
TT
Any light coffee blown away from all grades including ears mostly from elephants.
T
The smallest and thinnest beans mostly broken and faulty.
Mbuni is coffee that has not gone through the wet process (= unwashed). It comprises about 10% of the total crop and graded either as heavy Mbuni (MH) or light Mbuni (ML). This grade generally fetches lower prices and has a sour tasting liquor. These grades are then classified based on a numerical reference system on a scale of 1 to 10. The quality of the raw, roast and the liquor are analyzed and described based on this scale where one (1) is the finest and best and ten (10) is the least favoured. The cup may be described as Fine Fair to Good. Fair Average Quality (standard 4), Fair, Poor to Fair to common Plain Liquors.
Coffee shipment
The late crop coffee goes to the market in month of March and thus it can be available for shipment in the month of April.
Working from the average of the attached excel sheets, I would estimate 2500 bags would be available in month of April/May.
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Additional Information
Kenya coffee marketing is regulated by the law which requires that the cooperative chooses a marketing agency every year. Iyego has a credible cooperative society management team that has guaranteed that they would remain in partnership with TFMK through out the project period.
Coffee marketing before it is harvested would be a new phenomenon in Kenya, however it can be explored how it would work.
But as long as they are marketing through TFMK the availability of the coffee would be guaranteed since all their coffee will pass through us.
Sample
We have talked with our quality department so that they can send the available samples to you. New coffee samples for late crop will be available April next year but currently the early crop is in small bulked lot.
By William Muthui / 23rd 08 2010
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