Description
About Chania Estate
About Chania Estate
The Harries family has lived in Kenya, in the city of Thika (Central Province), since 1904. There they have two plantations: Chania and Oreti. These two farms are the last remaining medium-sized farms in Kenya and are currently owned by Boyce Harries, who is a 5th generation family coffee farmer.
The Harries family grows quite unusual varieties in 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 was gradually replaced in Kenya by the SL28 and SL34 varieties, which are more climate-resistant and produce higher yields.
Chania Estate farm is owned by Ha. Located on deep red volcanic soils, the Chania estate represents 73 hectares. The Harries family also own Oreti Farm, and 80 hectares of indigenous forest planted to encourage biodiversity currently cover the two farms combined. Today, more than 50% of farms in Chania and Oreti 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 farms have 40 full-time employees, but employ up to 300 people during harvest to select and prepare the coffees. The farm opened its own daycare center to care for its employees' children. All coffee is harvested entirely by hand and processed on site. Most are washed, but Boyce also produces natural and honey-processed coffees, as well as micro-lots of specific varieties.
