Coffee — It’s a process, from seed to bean
This was my very first post in my coffee blog way back in 2016. I have retired the blog website in favour of setting up a publication centered around the world of coffee.
A Visit to Karunguru Coffee Estate — Kenya. This was going to be a day to remember.
Karunguru Coffee Estate invited me to experience a day at their coffee farm situated 45 minutes from Nairobi’s city centre. I was welcomed by my hosts, Wambui Gitau and Gitau Karanja, with a cup of the finest freshest speciality coffee. This was going to be a day to remember.
The first Karunguru Coffee trees were planted in 1928 by the Glassfords who originally owned the farm before Kenya received its independence from the British government. The history of coffee growing has been an integral part of the Karunguru heritage since those early days.
In 1974, Mr. Kariithi Karekia bought the 300-acre farm and expanded it to its current 500 acres. Karunguru is still owned by the Kariithi family, who are proud to be part of the rich coffee farming culture and heritage of Kenya.
The coffee trees are grown from seed. The seedlings are watered every day and are monitored very closely. They will stay in the nursery for at least a year and will be used to replace dead or ailing trees throughout the farm.
The coffee trees are pruned regularly to ensure that each cherry receives the maximum amount of sun as it travels from East to West.
The trees are fertilized after the first 2 days of seasonal rain and inspected for disease and pest attack. Manure is added to dugouts once a year around the base of the tree, which is made at the farm from the pulping process waste mixed with cow manure.
Only the red-ripe cherries are picked by hand. This costly method of harvesting is labour intensive and is only viable because Karunguru produces 100% Arabica beans, which are sought after and therefore fetch a much higher price.
Once the cherries have been picked they are inspected by management and any unripe, overripe or diseased cherries are removed. The pickers are then paid $1 per bucketful of top quality cherries.
The freshly harvested cherries are guided through a pulping machine to separate the skin and pulp from the bean. The beans are separated by weight as they pass through water channels. The lighter beans float to the top, while the heavier ripe beans sink to the bottom.
The different sized beans are then channelled to water filled fermentation tanks where they will remain for up to 48 hours. Natural enzymes get to work fermenting and dissolving the layer of parenchyma or mucilage still attached to the cherry. Clean water is passed through the tanks to rinse away the layer of mucilage. The cherries are now ready for drying.
The beans are sun-dried on long tables to approximately 11% moisture content to properly prepare them for storage. They are turned regularly and covered at night to protect against rain. The drying process can take up to 14 days, depending on the weather.
The final product is now ready to go to the millers. Hulling machinery removes the parchment layer (endocarp) from the coffee. The beans are then sorted and graded, damaged, or imperfect beans are removed, leaving only the finest arabica coffee beans ready for export. About 90% of Karunguru coffee is exported, the rest is roasted and sold as speciality coffee to cafés, restaurants, and the general public.
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