At Cafés El Magnífico, we are passionate about coffee. And that includes information and documentation on coffee cultivation and processing. Today we are sharing with you a gem from our private library.
We are in Kenya, one of the countries with the highest quality coffee production in the world.
‘Kenya is not only renowned for its excellent coffee growers, terroirs and the famous and delicious SL28 and SL34 cultivars, but also for the high quality of the work carried out in its washing stations.’ — Salvador Sans, founder of Cafés El Magnífico.
And it is precisely this excellence in washing that is described in the article we are presenting to you.
It is an article from April 1999 published in the monthly newsletter of the Coffee Board of Kenya. The author is J.K. Mburu Senior, a renowned senior researcher who worked at the Coffee Research Foundation in 1986. In this article, Mburu explains the wet processing method in Kenya step by step.
CHECK HERE THE FULL DOCUMENT OF BENEFICIARIES IN KENYA
Coffe Board of Kenya
Now that we are in Kenya, all that remains is to briefly explain the work of the Coffee Board of Kenya, in whose newsletter the article appears.
The Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) is the government agency responsible for regulating, developing and promoting the country’s coffee industry. Its work covers the entire coffee value chain, from production to marketing, ensuring compliance with the regulations and quality standards that have consolidated the international reputation of Kenyan coffee.
Its functions include licensing the various players in the sector, providing technical support to farmers, supervising coffee processing and grading, and promoting Kenyan coffee in international markets through outreach, research and development activities.
Monthly bulletin from the Coffee Board of Kenya
The document signed by JK Mburu falls within this line of work. The original title is Notes on coffee processing procedures and their influence on quality.
It is a technical and educational text in which the CBK systematically details the wet processing of coffee in Kenya, a key stage in obtaining the sensory profiles that distinguish the country’s coffee.
The article describes the different stages of processing step by step and focuses on the quality criteria, controls and good practices recommended by the regulatory body itself.
Beyond its historical value, the document is an essential reference for understanding how wet processing has been structured and standardised in Kenya and the role that the CBK has played in defining these protocols.
A rigorous and methodical process for Kenya’s excellent coffee
At Cafés El Magnífico, we invite you to read through the entire text to understand the excellent wet processing system. You will see that the text includes underlining by Salvador Sans himself, which helps to better understand the entire process and take accurate notes.
So, make yourself a nice cup of coffee and enjoy reading the document. Kenya in your cup and on paper.