Today, Flor Del Cafe’s varietal menagerie includes traditional varieties such as Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Pache, alongside the more exotic Maracaturra, Maragogype, Pacamara, Laurina, Anacafe 14, and Geisha. In the 1990s, Osbaldo’s youngest son, Osbaldo Pérez Ramirez, bought the farm, improved processes and planted more varieties to push quality. Over the years, Don Osbaldo’s sons innovated new agricultural techniques and implemented natural applications throughout the farm for disease and pest control. One of the farms, called “Flor Del Café,” or The Coffee Flower, would become one of the most prestigious coffee estates in the region, well regarded by coffee people around the world. The oldest, Osbaldo Pérez, worked tirelessly with his siblings to grow coffee successfully, and over the decades, the family founded several estates throughout the valley. One of the first families to cultivate coffee was the Pérez family. The AA grade in Kenya is equivalent to screen size 17 or 18 (17/64 or 18/64 of an inch) used at other origins. They are not any indication of cup quality. The AA, AB and other grades used to classify lots in Kenya only indicate screen size. The cooperative has undertaken actions to increase yields and improve its member’s livelihoods and is currently looking for programs to strengthen the participation of young people and women in coffee. Many cannot afford to plant disease-resistant varieties and face being priced out of the market as their gains diminish. Some issues farmers face include low production due to pests and diseases and high input costs. While drying, the parchment is repeatedly moved and sorted to remove any damaged or discoloured beans. After pulping, the coffee is put through a demucilager (rather than traditional soaking), where it is washed using clean, fresh river water to remove all traces of mucilage before being delivered to dry on raised beds for between 9 to 15 days. Cherries are stringently hand sorted before pulping, with damaged and under-ripe cherries being separated from the red, ripe lots (the process is overseen by the ‘cherry clerks’ who are specifically tasked with managing and keeping records for payments). Once they reach their goal, they plan to renovate some of their pulping infrastructures and make other improvements.įarmers selectively handpick the ripest, reddest cherries, delivered directly to the cooperative’s wet mill or received at one of 4 collection points and ferried over on the same day. The next goal is to increase productivity and to receive 3 million kg of cherry in a single season! Right now, the cooperative is at roughly 1.1 million received per harvest. According to the manager, Thiriku has “increased quality together” rather than as individual farmers. Not only do cherries in the surrounding area ripen slowly, but the low temperatures also contribute to longer fermentation and slower drying times, which, when well-managed (as in this case), can lead to a better cup.Īnother advantage is the community spirit underlying the cooperative’s activities. Sitting at nearly 1,900 metres, the wet mill is one of the region’s highest and, in many ways, benefits significantly from the cool temperatures that characterize this high altitude. The cooperative owns a single wet mill that serves six communities and 2,504 smallholder farmers from the surrounding area, and 2,104 active members.
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