Driving from Mount Kenya in the rainy season. The coffee industry of Kenya is noted for its cooperative system of production, processing, milling, marketing, and auction system. About 70% of Kenyan coffee is produced by small- scale holders. It was estimated in 2012 that there were about 150,000 coffee and farmers in Kenya and other estimates are that six million Kenyans were employed directly or indirectly in the coffee industry. The major coffee-growing regions in Kenya are the high plateaus around Mt. Kenya, the Aberdare Range, Kisii, Nyanza, Bungoma, Nakuru, Kericho and to a smaller scale in Machakos and Taita hills in Eastern and coast provinces respectively. The acidic soil in highlands of central Kenya, just the right amount of sunlight and rainfall provide excellent conditions for growing coffee plants. Coffee from Kenya is of the 'Colombia mild' type, and is well known for its intense flavor, full body, and pleasant aroma with notes of cocoa and high grade coffee from Kenya is one of the most sought-after coffees in the world. However, due to a property boom in areas that grew coffee and price instability, production in this African Great Lakes country fell from about 130,000 metric tons in 1987 to 40,000 tons in 2012. Most tea produced in Kenya is black tea, with green tea, yellow tea, and white tea produced on order by major tea producers. Tea was first introduced in Kenya in 1903 by GWL Caine and was planted in present day Limuru. Commercialisation of tea started in 1924 and since then the nation became a major producer of black tea. Currently Kenya is ranked third behind China and India in tea production. Kenyan tea is also one of the top foreign exchange earners, alongside tourism, horticulture, and Kenyan coffee. The task of managing the small scale holder lies with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). Currently the KTDA has 66 tea factories serving over 500,000 small scale farmers cultivating over 100,000 ha. Of all tea produced in Kenya, KTDA members produce over 60% while the rest is produced by large scale producers. Kenya's tea growing regions endowed with ideal climate; tropical, volcanic red soils; well distributed rainfall ranging between 1200 mm to 1400mm per annum; long sunny days are some of the climatic features of the Tea growing regions. Tea is planted in an area of over 157,720 hectares, with production of about 345,817 metric tonnes of made tea. Over 325,533 metric tonnes exported. Vegetative propagation of high-yielding, well-adapted clones. Over 49 varieties so far developed by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK). No chemicals are used. Fertilizers are regularly added to replenish soil nutrients. Much of the tea grown in Kenya is processed using the Crush, Tear, Curl method, making it suitable for use in blends popular in most black-tea markets, including India, Britain and North America. CTC-tea has a homogenous taste and a strong generic, bold "tea" flavour and is the base of most Indian tea blends as well as a significant portion of breakfast teas. Higher-quality Kenyan teas are processed using traditional methods (e.g. picking of the tender leaves and bud cyclically, these being allowed to dry and be "fermented" by enzymes), and are often highly sought after "single origin" whole-leaf teas. Multinational companies increasingly use automation to process the tea, though smaller plantation estates may still produce the product by hand.

• published: 14 Aug 2015
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