Fertilizer Shortage May Cut Kenyan Coffee Production By 10%

Kenya's coffee production in 2022-23 is expected to fall by 10% to 700,000 bags due to higher fertilizer prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a newly published report tracking Kenya's coffee production.

Global fertilizer prices started surging in early 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued fighting between Russia and Ukraine has further exacerbated the situation.

Fertilizer prices in Kenya currently stand at Sh6,000 per bag (50kg), up 71% from a year ago.

Other reasons for the price hike include producers such as China, Russia and Turkey restricting exports to protect their farmers, while India, Brazil and the United States are in high demand and buying in large quantities, reducing global supplies.

The USDA report states: “Kenya’s coffee production in 2022/23 is expected to fall by 10% to 700,000 bags due to lower yields due to reduced fertilization. Crop acreage will remain at 105,000 hectares."

Kenya's coffee exports in 2022/23 will fall from 750,000 bags to 670,000 bags due to lower production, the report said.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya exported coffee worth Sh26.1 billion in 2021, up from Sh22.2 billion in 2020.

According to the International Coffee Organization, Kenya is the fifth largest coffee producer in Africa, after Ethiopia, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania.

According to the USDA report, domestic coffee consumption is expected to grow slightly over the period even as lower consumer purchasing power due to high inflation dampens demand growth fueled by a recovery in the hospitality industry.

"While consumption is expected to rise as Kenya's tourism and restaurant industries recover following the lifting of COVID-19 containment restrictions, domestic consumption is expected to rise as high inflation reduces consumers' purchasing power," the USDA report said. growth will be constrained.” "Coffee consumption is seen as a non-essential expense and thus sensitive to changes in purchasing power".

The Kenyan government has announced Sh5.7 billion in fertilizer subsidies to partially offset fertilizer prices.

More than 80% of coffee in Kenya is sold by cooperatives, with the remainder sold by corporate and individually owned businesses. More than 90% of Kenya's coffee is sold through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), with the remainder sold "directly" through contracts negotiated by marketing agents representing producers and exporters.

Benefits of drinking coffee

The refreshing effect of coffee is deeply loved by working people. Drinking a cup of hot coffee in the morning can not only boost the spirits quickly, but also can enter the working state in time. Coffee contains caffeine, and also contains nutrients such as fat, protein and vitamins that the human body needs.

Benefits of drinking coffee

Specifically, drinking coffee has the following main benefits.

1, coffee can eliminate drowsiness and refresh the brain. Because coffee contains a large amount of caffeine, which is a stimulant, can stimulate the central nervous system, heart and other organs and make them in a more excited state to relieve fatigue, eliminate drowsiness, but it is recommended not to drink coffee after dinner, otherwise it may cause continued nervous excitement and lead to insomnia and other phenomena.

Coffee Planting in Yulin China for Five Years

A large area of ​​coffee trees has been planted in Ruitong Village, Zhangmu Town, Fumian District, Yulin City, Guangxi Province of China. Since the first harvest in 2017, it is still the only coffee plantation in Yulin so far. Five years later, how is the development of coffee beans in Yulin? With questions, the reporter visited Yulin coffee bean grower Feng Shaoming and some coffee shop merchants in Yulin urban area.

A coffee plantation in Ruitong Village, Zhangmu Town, Fumian District, Yulin City.

Coffee beans after rough processing sold to other provinces

The 65-year-old Feng Shaoming's face is covered with traces of years and hard work due to the constant exposure to the wind and the sun and the maintenance of the coffee garden. "This year's harvest is relatively small, and the output of green coffee beans is only about 4 tons." Feng Shaoming introduced the situation of coffee beans in 2021 to reporters. Because of the dry weather and less rain, the general situation is from the end of October to the end of November each year. The harvesting period is more than half a month ahead of schedule.

Bean-free Coffee, Gimmick or Future of Coffee Industry?

According to estimates by the UNESCO Water Resources Department, a cup of coffee in our hands consumes 39 gallons of water (147 liters) to produce. The climate change that is taking place today has in turn made the coffee-growing industry a vulnerable victim. The more unstable the environment, the more difficult it is for farmers to obtain stable yields and the inability to effectively organize production, and as the planet becomes warmer, it also intensifies the emergence of microbial infectious diseases that infect coffee crops.

Coffee farming may face unsustainability

In Brazil, where the Amazon rainforest covers the largest area in the world, the past year was the highest in Brazil for 15 years of economic deforestation (deforestation) for planting and animal husbandry. Cattle raising, palm oil, coffee beans, and cocoa nuts are all major industries that cause deforestation, but our good fortune and the livelihoods of millions of people also depend on this.

The flourishing specialty coffee industry in the global metropolis ultimately failed to allow millions of small farmers in the upper reaches of agriculture to obtain sufficient benefits, which continued to aggravate the problem of "economic income inequality".

To improve the sustainability of the coffee industry, in the main coffee producing areas, governments and non-governmental organizations in some countries encourage coffee farmers to plan their production more orderly, and plant some wild coffee cherries.

How To Use Nespresso (Inissia)

 Nespresso, an operating unit of the Nestlé Group, is headquartered in Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules, a type of pre-apportioned single-use container, or reusable capsules, of ground coffee beans. Nespresso first tested this new concept in Japan in 1986 before launching in Switzerland, France, Italy and Japan the same year. Nespresso  coffee system was by no means successful until 10 years later. 

How To Use Nespresso?

This article is about to take Inissia as an example to demonstrate how to use Nespresso machines!

1. Fill the Nespresso tank with drinking water.

How To Make Iced Coffee At Home

 

How to make iced coffee at home

1. Put a small amount of ice cubes in the cup and add syrup

2. Pour the espresso into the cup and stir evenly until the ice cubes are completely melted

3. Add an appropriate amount of ice cubes again, pour two balls of cream or milk

4. Stir evenly to enjoy.

How to make Thai iced coffee: 

Ingredients:

Appropriate amount of condensed milk, ice cubes, 30㏄ hot coffee, 75㏄ milk

How to make

Fill the cup with ice cubes; mix 30㏄ condensed milk with 75㏄ hot coffee thoroughly; and then pour the blend into an ice cup and stir slightly; add milk to fill the cup. Stir evenly a strong flavored Thai-style iced milk coffee is done.

The coffee content in the iced coffee needs to be a little more than that in the equal portion of hot coffee, and the flavor will also be stronger. As for the brand, there is no limit. Choose the flavor you like.

But freshness is the most important key to the taste of coffee.

However, Nestlé recently launched a new product of iced coffee, which can be directly washed with cold water.

How to make coffee?

Before brewing coffee—you must have good fresh water prepared. That's because when boiled, fresh water will produce an appropriate amount of carbon dioxide to promote the coffee's aroma. But continuously boiling the water will reduce the evaporation of carbon dioxide. The best water temperature is 95°C. If the water temperature is too low, the coffee flavor will not be fully released while too high temperature will deteriorate some coffee components.  too much or not enough is not good.

How to make a cup of coffee?

1. Warm up the cup. 

When cold, tannins contained in the coffee will work and make it sour. Thus, before you start brewing coffee, you should pour hot water into the cup to warm up it.

2. Grinding coffee beans. 

The powder size of hand ground coffee should be determined by the characteristics of the coffee beans. For deep-roasted coffee beans, the powder particle size should be slightly bigger than that of medium-deep roasted beans. For example, carbon-fired, deep roasted coffee beans can be 4 in gauge, and medium-deep roasted beans such as Blue Mountain should be 3.5. If the bean powder particle is too large, the brewed coffee won't be strong enough. However, too fine bean powder would render the coffee very bitter. 

Another issue is the amount of coffee beans needed. The amount of beans for a cup of coffee is 12-14g. The amount of 2 cups should be calculated by the formula: (portion of one cup - 2) x 2, that is 20 g. Similarly, the amount of three cups or more is  30g of coffee beans for 3 cups, 40g for 4 cups, and so on.

3. Warm up the coffee pot. 

Pour a small amount of hot water into the bottom pot, shake it a few times before pour it out. Then put the firm coffee flour (agglomerate coffee powder) on the bottom pot.

4. Steaming. 

The purpose of steaming is to suffocate the aroma of coffee and prepare for the second brewing. The water temperature for steaming should be 93 degrees, pour water from the center of the coffee flour, and make a circle 2-3 times so that the whole coffee flour can absorb water evenly. Water drops by 3-5 droplets is the best...

5. Brewing. 

After steaming, place the pot on a moist cloth to cool down. After 25-30 seconds, the water temperature drops to 89-91 degrees, and you can start brewing. Generally, the proper brewing water temperature of moderately roasted coffee beans (inert beans) is 91 degrees, which can extract the aroma of coffee beans better. For deep roasted coffee beans (lively beans) , the best brewing temperature is 89 degrees, which is enough to extract the aroma and bitterness of coffee beans. If the water temperature is lower, it may taste a little light, and too high temperature would make the coffee extremely bitter.

6. Fill the cup. 

Before filling the cup, you should shake the coffee in the pot gently to make it it even in each cup. Then pour out the warming-up water in the cup and pour the coffee into it. You can enjoy it now!

Tips: 

The entire coffee brewing process from cup warming-up to serving (within 4 cups), the duration should not exceed 2 minutes, otherwise the taste of the coffee will become sour, astringent, and lose its original flavor.