SL varieties are a vital part of Kenyan coffee's history and present cultivation. Established by the colonial British government in 1922, the Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SL) gave Kenyan farmers training and technical advice on coffee farming. However, their main legacy is their work as a research organisation that developed multiple cultivars under contract between 1934 and 1963.
We have been buying lots from the Thageini Mill since 2016, working with them to develop experimental processing and improve infrastructure and facilities for its workers and the wider community. This particular lot comprises SL28 and SL34 varieties, which are among the most widely grown in Nyeri and Kenya. Grown by members of the Aguthi Farmers' Co-operative, the mixed SL cherries are collected, sorted and processed at Thageini as a combined lot, sharing the combined efforts of the 2,000 member co-operative.
ORIGIN
Nyeri County, Kenya
Nyeri lies between Mount Kenya and the Aberdare mountain range, along the the Eastern flank of the Great Rift Valley. The Kikuyu, the largest ethnic group in Kenya, call Mount Kenya the ‘Mountain of Whiteness’. The white peaks are thought to be the home and throne of the deity ‘Ngai’, the creator of the universe. The majority of the residents of Nyeri are members of Kenya's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, with residents generally being known as "Nyeri Kikuyu". Coffee and tea farms surround the Nyeri town and are the most important source of income and community wealth in the county.
