Aggregation points
Collection points across the highlands, each within walking distance of the farms that supply it. Cherry is weighed, recorded and moved to the mill the same day.
Rooted in the Gusii Highlands, building a coffee business from the ground up.
Inkaminto Highlands Coffee Estate Ltd sources, aggregates and processes Kenyan specialty coffee from the red volcanic soils of Kisii — working with smallholder farmers, and building the systems that will carry us further.
1,750 m
Average altitude
Kisii County
Estate & wet mill
Farmer network
Aggregation & processing
A family estate in the highlands of Kisii
Inkaminto began with a single hillside block above the Nyamache valley, planted by our family in the 1970s. Three generations later, we are a working estate and processor — buying cherry from farmers around us, processing it at our own wet mill, and preparing green coffee for buyers.
The Gusii highlands give us what no process can imitate: deep red volcanic loam, cool nights, and equatorial sun tempered by altitude. That combination builds the dense bean and bright acidity we are working to bring to more buyers each season.
- Estate-grown and estate-processed, alongside cherry from our partner farmers.
- Wet mill and raised drying beds on site, so cherry is processed the day it arrives.
- Direct conversations with roasters and green buyers — we are building these relationships now.
From cherry to container
Five stages, from the tree to the loading bay. Tap any step to see how we handle coffee at Inkaminto today.
Selective Harvest
Picking runs from November to January, when the highland rains give way to clear ripening sun. Our field team walks the blocks through the season and only ripe, deep-red cherries are taken — under-ripe and over-ripe fruit is left on the tree or sorted out at the collection point. Cherry is weighed and recorded as it comes in, so we know which day and which block it came from.
Pulping & Fermentation
Cherry is delivered to our wet mill the same day it is picked and is not held overnight. A disc pulper removes the skin and most of the mucilage, and the parchment is fermented in tanks for 16 to 24 hours depending on the day's temperature. Our mill manager checks the fermentation through the day — the moment it is right, it is washed.
Washing & Drying
Parchment is washed in clean gravity-fed spring water and graded by density in washing channels. It then moves to raised drying beds where it is turned by hand through the day, less often as it dries. Drying takes 12 to 18 days to reach a stable 10.5–11% moisture, with shade netting at midday.
Milling & Grading
Dried parchment rests in ventilated conditioning bins before hulling. The green bean is then passed through density and gravity separators and graded by screen size into AA, AB and PB. Defects are hand-sorted on the table, and each finished lot is weighed, recorded and stored by grade in our warehouse.
Cupping & Export
Lots are cupped before they are offered — once at parchment stage and again after milling — scoring for acidity, body, sweetness and cleanliness. Approved lots are packed in 60 kg jute bags with GrainPro liners, marked with their grade and lot reference, and prepared for export through Mombasa.
Farmers and our aggregation network
Inkaminto is an estate, but it is also a network. Smallholder families across the Gusii highlands deliver cherry to our collection points each season, and that network is growing.
Training and inputs
Our field team runs pruning, shade and post-harvest workshops through the season, and partner farmers can access seedlings and soil amendments through the estate.
Fair, prompt payment
Farmers are paid on delivery, with a quality premium at the end of the season for cherry that cups well.
Grown by people we know by name
Most of our cherry comes from farmers we know personally, and deliveries are recorded as they arrive. We are building the record-keeping that will let us follow a bag back to a farm and a harvest day — that work is under way, and we would rather show it honestly than claim it is finished.
Quality and how we work
Specialty coffee is a discipline, not a claim. Here is what we do today, and what we are still putting in place.
Cupping before we offer
Lots are cupped and scored before they are offered for export, and we share the notes with buyers. We are working towards a consistent specialty score across our estate lots.
Moisture control
Parchment and green bean moisture is measured through the drying season. We aim to hold 10.5–11% so the coffee travels and ages well.
Lot records
We record deliveries, processing dates and grades as they happen. A full lot-to-farmer traceability system is still being built — we will share what we have, and be clear about what we don't yet have.
Hand sorting
Defects are removed by hand on the sorting table, before and after grading, so what you receive matches the sample you approve.
Export packing
Jute bags with food-grade GrainPro liners, marked with grade, net weight and crop year, palletised and sealed for the journey to Mombasa.
Samples on request
Offer and pre-shipment samples are prepared on request, and we share courier tracking directly. Tell us your grade and destination and we will confirm timing.
Ask us what we can show you
With each sample we can share what we hold today: the block or collection point, the altitude, the variety, the processing method and the cupping notes. We are working towards a fuller record for every lot, and we will tell you plainly where the gaps still are.
What we offer buyers
Green bean from our estate and our farmer network, plus small lots and roasted coffee as we develop them.
Green Bean — AA & AB
Our main offer today. Washed, screen-graded Kenyan highland coffee with bright citric acidity, blackcurrant and a syrupy body. Available in 60 kg jute bags, or consolidated with other lots.
Roasted Coffee
Estate coffee roasted to order for cafés, hotels and offices in Kenya. Small volumes today, and we are happy to talk through what you need.
Small Lots & Trials
Small quantities from individual blocks and processing trials — honey and natural profiles we are testing with roasters. Limited volumes, and we will always send a sample first.
Sustainability on the ridge
Coffee that lasts generations has to look after the land, the water and the people who work it. These are the practices we keep to, and the work we are still building.
Shade and soil
Indigenous shade trees — albizia, grevillea and cordia — are interplanted across the estate, holding soil on the slopes, cooling the canopy and feeding the organic matter that gives our coffee its sweetness.
Water and waste
Washing uses gravity-fed spring water, recirculated through settling ponds. Pulp and mucilage are composted and returned to the fields rather than discharged.
Community
We support the villages around the estate where we can — school bursaries and practical help for the families who supply us. As the business grows, we want to do more of this.
Youth in coffee
We bring young growers into the work — agronomy, processing and cupping — so the next generation sees coffee as a career worth staying in the highlands for.
Life on the estate
Harvest, processing, cupping and the highland landscape we work in.
What people say about working with us
Early relationships, built on straight answers and coffee we can stand behind.
We have bought Inkaminto AA for two harvests now. The cup has been consistent across both, and they are upfront about what they can and cannot yet document.
Marta LindqvistHead Buyer, Nordkap Roasters — Gothenburg, Sweden
Samples arrive when they say they will, the paperwork is clean, and they answer questions about the coffee directly. That reliability is rarer in this trade than it should be.
Daniel OtienoGreen Coffee Manager, Rift Valley Trading — Nairobi, Kenya
I looked at the processing setup, the farmer network and how they handle quality. What stood out was a team that answers hard questions directly and does not overstate where the business is.
Grace WanjiruPartner, Savannah Agri Capital — Nairobi, Kenya
Let's talk coffee
Whether you are a roaster wanting a sample, a buyer looking at Kenyan coffee, an investor interested in the highlands, or a farmer wanting to join our network — we answer every enquiry personally.
Estate & MillInkaminto Highlands Coffee Estate, Nyamache Road, Kisii County, Kenya
Telephone+254 700 000 000
Emailhello@inkamintocoffee.com
Office hoursMonday to Friday, 8:00 – 17:00 EAT · Saturday 9:00 – 13:00
Send us an enquiry
Tell us the grade and volume you are looking for, and we will come back with what we have available and a sample plan.