Last year's Kenyan coffee was a huge hit with all of you. If you remember, Susan Mwihaki, the producer of the last coffee from Kenya is a member of a group called "North of the Rift Women in Coffee". A group of female coffee farmers, supporting each other and lifting up more and more women around them. We loved this idea so much that we decided to stick with this group and this year we bought coffee from another member: Dr. Rosebella Langat. Her coffee is deliciously smooth with rounded, spicy notes of cocoa and a pleasantly tart acidity and sweetness that reminded us of hibiscus and greengage plums.
 
Social Kontext:
 
Dr. Rosebella started growing coffee in 2019 when she and her husband moved to their new house in the Nandi Hills at the edge of the Great Rift Valley in the southwestern part of Kenya. Being a champion of women and education for women, she quickly realised the farm's potential for providing employment opportunities for women as well as providing education and materials needed for women to start their own coffee business. She mobilised a group of local women and with mutual support and perseverance, each of them managed to start her own coffee farm. They bought seedlings from Rosebella at a discount. Some of them had to pay with raw materials like eggs for the seedlings because they didn't have their own money and others had to start over several times because their husbands gave them a hard time and even riped out the freshly planted seedlings. But they all managed to get there in the end and found a way to feed their families through coffee.
 
Economic Kontext:
 
Today Rosebella works with 60 farmers who have organized and registered themselves as Chepsangor Women. Starting their own coffee growing business has improved the self-esteem of many of these women and they have found their voice in collectively asking their local government to improve access to clean water and energy. The group is making great strides towards a positive future. Rosebella is experimenting to understand the viability of biogas as a fuel source for cooking instead of cutting down trees for firewood. She is also working with them to set up a portal through the government for an online shop to sell their produce.
 
Environmental Kontext:
 
Regenerative practices play and important role in how coffee is grown at Chepsangor Hills. They follow a zero-till method while planting seedlings; coffee trees grow under the shade of indigenous trees and the river is protected by a 10 meters border of natural vegetation. Beehives are installed throughout the farms and soil health is annually tested and protected with organic leaf matter and manure.
 
This lot we bought from Rosebella via This Side Up this year is a mixed lot of coffee from Rosebella's own farm and the female farmer group she works with. The ripest cherries are pupled and dry-fermented for 24-48 hours before being washed and consequently dried for approx. 14 days until adequate moisture levels are reached.