Kenya Green Coffee Export Review

Article Summary:

• Known for its iconic grapefruity citrus flavors, bright acidity, and occasional savory tomato-like flavors  
• 25th coffee producing country in the world by volume 
• 80% of the production is produced by cooperatives and the remaining 20% of production is individual estates.  
• Main crop harvests from October to January, the second crop is called ‘fly crop’ and is lower in yields than the main crop 
•  5 main coffee production regions 
• Extensive cultivar research has originated in the country including 5 signature cultivars: SL28, Sl34, SL14, Ruiru 11 and Batian  

Kenya Export Overview 2026 

One of the most sought after origins in specialty coffee, its profile has iconic savory notes like tomato and punchy acidity. The country produced 850,000 60kg bags in the 2025/2026 production year, making up 0.48% of the global production.  Over the 2025/2026 year there was a reported spike in exports due to the duty free market access the U.S.  The local government has historically and is currently investing in coffee production planting materials to provide loans to farmers, access to fertilizers and seedlings. There are five main producing regions in the country, each with their own distinct flavor profiles.  

Export Stats 

In the 2026/2027 year exports are expected to reach almost a million 60kg bags, this is due to the improved crop following two years of higher prices. Local consumption(62,000 60kg bags) is likely to stay the same because of reduced purchasing power for locals. Export volumes are projected to meet or exceed the all-time high from 2024/25 after a dip last year. The spike was catalyzed by the extension of duty-free market access to the U.S under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.  

Production  

Lease agreements are very common in Kenya, in which people lease out their land for coffee producers to grow on it. Agreements can be short term to long term, and some allow for new coffee seedlings to be planted and/or grafting new varieties on old rootstock. Roughly 80% of Kenyan coffee is sold to cooperatives and the rest is managed by cooperatives and individual estates.  

The Kenyan main crop is primarily harvested during traditional Northern Hemisphere harvest time periods, October-December. There is another second harvest from Kenya during the late spring/early summer called a ‘fly crop’. 

In 2023 Kenya exported $304 million worth of coffee with the US as its top destination. Coffee is the second highest volume agricultural product in the country, behind sugar. Local governments are aggressively pursuing an expansion program for coffee that covers central, eastern and rift valley regions. A key player in this operation is New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union; they utilize a government supported fund to give farmers saplings and fertilizers along with other grant programs meant to support farmers. These programs have tested the capacity of the country to produce planting materials to support the farmer demand. Coffee Research Institute is another major player that supports farmers but due to a large backlog the are overwhelmed by the surge in demand for various planting materials. 

Growing regions  

Coffee grows throughout many regions in Kenya, each with unique climate and terroir which results in coffee with different flavor profiles. Some of the more popular regions include Nyeri, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Embu, all centrally located counties north of the capitol city of Nairobi and surrounding the nation’s largest peak, Mount Kenya, an extinct volcano. 

Nyeri is unquestionably the most famous specialty coffee region, near Mount Kenya. The red soil in the region produces some of the best cup quality available from the country. Smallholder producers make up most of the production in the region and coffee is one of the main crops available for the country.  

Kirinyaga is on the eastern side of Nyeri and benefits from volcanic soil being so close to Mount Kenya.  

Murang’a is lush, with lots of producers, up to 100,000 smallholders. The region benefiets from volcanic soil and has more smallholders than estates. When the British first attempted to colonize, the coast was already occupied by Portugal which forced missionaries inwards.  

Kiambu is dominated by large estates, many of which are owned by multinational corporations. This implied a unilateral business model that often focuses on mechanized production with higher yield versus higher cup quality.  

Embu is also centered around Mount Kenya and many of the people living in the region are coffee producers.  

Cultivars 

Scott Agricultural Laboratories, now National Agricultural Laboratories was active in the 1930’s and is responsible for the selection numerous popular local varieties including SL28, SL34 and SL14.  

SL28 is a well-known cultivar in Africa and has a very good reputation for cup quality and resistance to drought. It does not fare well against major diseases in coffee but for the most part is durable and notable for its rusticity. Scott Agricultural Laboratories initially selected the cultivar from a Tanzanian Bourbon population. 

SL34, once thought to be a Bourbon selection, is now known to be a Typica-related tree, first selected by Scott Labs in the 1930’s. It is known for its great cup quality and moderately high yields but susceptible to diseases and climate change.  

SL14 was also produced in the late 1930’s by Scott Labs and was selected from a single tree labeled Drought Resistant II. Genetic tests have confirmed that it is related to the Typica genetic group and it is important to both Kenya and Uganda.  

Ruiru 11 is a unique F1 hybrid, a bit of a Frankenstein coffee. Its parent trees are both complex hybrids, with a short stature Catimor hybrid pollen receiving plant, and the pollen donor a tall hybrid of SL28, SL34, Sudan Rume, K7, N39, the Timor Hybrid, and Bourbon. Ruiru 11 relies on hand pollination for mass propagation, a slow and tedious process that limits production. From the 1980’s until the early 2020’s it was the most widely distributed cultivar in the country, created in response to the 1968 coffee berry disease epidemic. It has a poor reputation with specialty cuppers who expect the flavors and sweetness of SL arabicas, but it is wildly popular with growers for its productivity and resistance. 

Batian is currently the most-planted tree in the country and is well-adapted for small holders due to its resistance to diseases and pests.  Developed in response to Ruiru’s poor international reception, it was released in  2010, and is essentially a reformulation of Ruiru, with single tree selections taken from the fifth generation (F5) and was released as a composite of three distinct genetic lines. It is an immensely productive tree with early maturation, often achieving full harvest yields by the second or third year after planting. 

K7 (Bourbon) and Kent (Typica) are older varieties still sometimes found in Kenya as well.  

Logistics 

There are three main ports in Kenya Lamu, Malindi and Mombasa. The port of Mombasa is one of the largest ports in the country as well as the East and Central African regions, and is the primary export destination for most coffee leaving the country. 

Mombasa is on Kenya’s southeastern Indian Ocean coastline, and has connections to almost 80 other major ports in the world. Many routes from Mombasa lead through the Red Sea, connecting to European countries. It’s a vital port for numerous regional landlocked African countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

Even during the Colonial time of the country Mombasa was a major center point for shipping. The Uganda Railway Act of 1896 authorized the construction of a railway from Mombasa to the shores of Lake Victoria. A major achievement for both Uganda and Kenya that provided economic vitality and supported the suppression of slavery by removing the need for humans to transport goods.  

The Coffee Board of Kenya and Nairobi Coffee exchange oversee a massive central action that focuses on quality, microlot logistics which make logistics a little bit easier. These institutions make Kenya an outlier compared to every other coffee producing country.  

Royal Coffee Availability 

Fresh main crop Kenyan coffee typically arrives between May and August. Royal’s importation volume is relatively small compared to other countries, and with high demand for Kenyan coffee, we encourage roasters to reach out to traders in advance of arrival to prebook coffees rather than waiting for spot availability. 

Increasingly, we are sourcing fly crop Kenyan coffee, which can arrive in the winter, usually between November and March.  

In 2026 we released three Kenyan Crown Jewels. The first, an off-season selection, arrived in January and is sold out. Two main crop selections, a natural process and a washed peaberry, are freshly arrived as of July with good availability. 

Check out our full Kenya offering list here.