Gicherori

Most folks familiar with Kenyan coffees have a passing familiarity with “SL” varieties– SL 28 and SL 34 especially. Incredibly commonplace across Kenya after British Colonial research center Scott Agricultural Laboratories identified, studied, and distributed these varieties nearly a century ago. At the time they addressed the issue of water scarcity; with a large root system they could maximize water resources and bounce back strongly from droughts. Now, all this time later it should surprise no one that other issues have come into play, from Coffee Leaf Rust to Coffee Berry Disease, and indeed the ever expanding climate crisis. 

Now, another variety likely familiar to the avid Kenya drinker is Ruirui 11. Less in-focus than the famed SL varieties, this F1 variety is here to answer questions that are plaguing coffee producers today. With everything from a greatly increased yield to a massive increase in disease resistance, the only major drawback for the variety is a shallow root structure which is not exactly helpful in drought conditions. But here’s the Hannah Montana brilliance of some growers: it has become increasingly common to graft Ruirui 11 onto the root system of SL varieties– mix it all together and you know that it’s the best of both worlds.