Tekangu Farmers Co-operative Society has for 5 years consistently been producing some of our favourite coffees from Kenya and also the world. Tekangu has 3 different washing stations, Tegu, Karogoto and Ngunguru all located in a small area near the city Karatina in central Kenya. Although there are plenty of coffee producing co-operatives in the area, the coffees from Tekangu tends to have  a very specific flavor profile that we love. The coffees are quite recognizable, even when cupped blind next to other coffees produced nearby. For the last 4 years we have been favouring the coffee from the Karogoto wet mill / factory because of it’s tea-like and floral style in the cup.  Therefore in November 2010 we invested in 8 new drying tables made of steel to be placed on the Karogoto factory in order to make sure we get more of this delicious coffee in the future.
The money for this was raised by our customers at our 3 year anniversary.

About the cooperative
Tekangu is a small cooperative with over 900 members that are so called “small holder farmers” posessing about 1 hectar of land each where they grow maize, banana, coffee and other crops.
At the three wet mills (or  ”factories”), Tegu, Ngunguru and Karagoto, the coffee cherries are delivered by the farming members and the coffee is then, depulped, washed, fermented and dried at the wet-mill. The Co-operative is then responsible for selling the coffee and making sure the farmers are payed  accordingly.

Tekangu is a well developed cooperative that focuses on producing quality coffee and get high prices for this coffee in order to improve the quality of life of it’s members.   They provide credits for their farmers in order for them to pay for farm input and paying school fees for their children throughout the year. The members are trained on a regular basis in sustainable farming practices and also in how to handle and apply pesticides, etc.

The members are provided with documentation about how much their coffee was sold for so that they know how much money they can expect for the coffee they delivered to the cooperative. In addition, the coop’s marketing agent (Coffee Management Services, CMS) provides us and the farmers with documents on all money transfers so that all transactions are made rightfully according to the law. This is important as Kenya is struggling with corruption which has lead to farmes not always getting payed what is rightfully their money, and although we buy the coffee directly from the Coop, it is good to know that the money goes to the rightful owner.

About the Coffee:

Central Kenya is famous for producing some of the best coffees in the world. Not only is the climatic conditions perfect for coffee where the coffee is grown ranging from 1500 to 1800 masl. The soils are rich in iron, sulphur and phosphorous and in combination with the famous SL28 and SL34 varieties of Arabica, the results are some of the most intense and fruity coffees on the market.
The coffee shrubs are planted with good spacing between each shrub making sure the plant gets a lot of light. Most farmers do not use any shade trees for their coffee.   The pruning technique that is practiced by the farmers at Tekangu ensures more high density beans are produced by each tree. The coffee is constantly being sorted and screened and before it is sold it is categorized into several qualities whereas AA is the best quality. This lot is of course of the best quality made of the most dense and biggest beans in the sorting. That is the reason why you get more clarity and intensity in the cup.

Info:

Cooperative: Tekangu FCS
Processing factory: Karogoto
Lot no: 19CK0200
Lot size: 720 kg
Producer: Several smallholders
Harvest: December 2012
Origin: Kirimukuyu, Nyeri, Kenya.
Growing conditions: 1700-1800 msl. in full sun.
Botanical variety: SL 28 & SL 34
Process: The coffee is hand picked by the farmers and their families. After delivering the coffee to the different factories the best farmers (categorized as A-farmers) coffee is separated from the B-farmers to ensure better quality. Then the good coffee cherries are separated from the inferior ones. The cherries are depulped, the beans are fermented and washed before they get dried on african elevated drying tables.

Processing coffee in Kenya from Tim Wendelboe on Vimeo.

 

Taste description:
Intense aromas of rose hips, flowers and berries.
Intense winey acidity. Tea-like, elegant mouthfeel.
Short refreshing finish.

You can buy this coffee in our  webshop.

Below is a slideshow from our Trips to kenya in 2010 and one from our 2009 trip on the bottom.
Click on full screen then on “show info” to get comments on the pictures.