Kenya - Thika - Oreti Estate - AA -  SL 28 - Washed

Boyce, a dedicated coffee farmer in Kenya, manages two family-owned estate farms: Chania and Oreti. These farms have a rich history, dating back to the family's settlement in South Africa in 1901 before relocating to Kenya. In 1926, Boyce's great-grandfather purchased the land, recognizing its water availability as a crucial factor for successful farming. Since then, the estates have evolved into well-established coffee farms, focusing on high-quality production and sustainable practices. 

The Oreti Estate farm has been owned by the Harries family for several generations. It is one of the last two remaining medium-sized farms in Kenya and is located on deep volcanic red soils. This small 35-hectare farm (which is in fact a large farm by Kenyan standards) was named after New Zealand’s Oreti Beach, where Boyce’s grandfather met his grandmother for the first time. Peter Harries decided to plant 17 hectares of SL14 alongside the SL28 in 1961. Although particularly susceptible to disease, the family has kept this variety because it’s of a higher quality than SL28. Although it shares many similarities with Chania, Oreti is slightly higher in elevation, which influences its microclimate and coffee characteristics.

The Harries family also owns the Chania farm, and 80 hectares of indigenous forests planted to encourage biodiversity currently cover the two farms combined.

Today, over 50% of the Chania and Oreti farms are planted with Red Bourbon. The rest is a mix of Ruiru 11 (resistant variety), K7 (rust resistant), SL28 (susceptible to disease but known for its cup quality) and the new Batian variety. The estate has its own coffee processing station, ensuring handling from harvest. The farms have 40 full-time staff, but employ up to 300 people during harvests to select and prepare the coffees. The farm has opened its own nursery school to take care of its employees’ children.

All the coffee is picked entirely by hand and processed on site. Most are washed, but Boyce also produces natural and honey-processed coffees as well as microlots of specific varieties.

The Harries family has been living in Kenya, in the town of Thika (Central Province), since 1904. Boyce, a dedicated coffee farmer in Kenya, manages two family-owned estate farms: Chania and Oreti. These farms have a rich history, dating back to the family's settlement in South Africa in 1901 before relocating to Kenya. In 1926, Boyce's great-grandfather purchased the land, recognizing its water availability as a crucial factor for successful farming. Since then, the estates have evolved into well-established coffee farms, focusing on high-quality production and sustainable practices.

These two farms are the last remaining medium-sized farms in Kenya and are currently owned by Boyce Harries, who belongs to the family’s 5th generation of coffee producers. 

The Harries family grows varieties that are quite unusual for Kenya, including SL14 and Red Bourbon. It is the last to still produce the SL14 variety, which was the first SL14 to be cultivated in Kenya. SL14 is particularly weak, so it has been gradually replaced in Kenya with the SL28 and SL34 varieties, which are more climate hardy and produce higher yields.

Belco first got to know the Harries family a few years ago. They were so well-organised and knowledgeable of the industry that we were able to begin working together in 2017, buying coffee from them directly for the very first time. Which is a great advantage, because there are usually up to 7 intermediaries separating a producer from the final buyer!