Join the Bean There Team in Johannesburg and Cape Town for coffee and Madecasse chocolate evenings to officially launch the Burundian Musema including the screening of a short film of the people and the place responsible for producing this coffee. There
are 100 available places at the launch so RSVP now to ensure you don’t miss out.

CAPE TOWN : Thursday 21 July | 19:30 | Maremoto Hotel & Restaurant | 230 Long Street | RSVP: cape@beanthere.co.za

JOHANNESBURG: Thursday 28 July | 19:30 | Bean There Coffee Roastery | 44 Stanley Avenue | RSVP: coffee@beanthere.co.za

“Every cup of coffee contains its own soul, extracted from your feeling today. Every cup of coffee is like a magic show containing different journey and bringing the unending imagination and surprises. With a sip of coffee, you not only taste your own story, but also change your perspective of the world.”

Please Note: Bean There Coffee Company & Roastery will be closed on the following dates:

Friday, 22 April

Monday, 25 April

Wednesday, 27 April

Monday, 2 May

We will be open and operating on Saturday, 23 April.

Meet Francis Waheire Mbuthia; a coffee farmer from the Ruthagati Cooperative in Karatina, Kenya.

 Francis and his wife Lyndia have five children and we met two of them; Duncan (25) and Alfred (17).

Francis has received agricultural training from Sustainable Management Services (SMS) and is now a “Promoter Farmer”. SMS chose “240 so-called Promoter Farmers. Each of them lives in a group of 45 farming families, gives the right example, and supports others with growing coffee plants – from pruning, fertilizing and harvesting to protecting the soil and managing crop disease and pests. They also ensure that the families plan their work carefully and that they deliver high quality coffee beans.” (http://www.hivos.nl/english/community/partner/10008480)

Francis has 54 coffee trees on his farm and has experienced higher yields and better quality coffee since receiving his training and support. However, Kenya experienced poor weather in harvest year 2010/2011 and yields decreased tremendously.

2005/2006 – 109kg = 2.18kg/tree

2006/2007 – 82kg = 1.64kg/tree

2007/2008 – 264kg = 5.28kg/tree

2008/2009 – 116.5kg = 2.33kg/tree

2009/2010 – 406.5kg = 8.13kg/tree

2010/2011 – 236kg = 4.72kg/tree

 Francis is currently managing grafting on some of his coffee trees. He is grafting the varietal Ruiru-11, which has a stronger and better producing top-working head, onto his current SL-28 trees, the varietal which has a stronger and deeper mother-stock and root system. This means he will have stronger coffee trees producing more cherries and better coffee.

Francis proudly produces his coffee for the Ruthagati Cooperative, is UTZ Certified, and a supplier of Bean There’s Kenyan Nyeri coffee.

Bean There’s Jonathan Robinson, Hein Koen, and Sarah Robinson had the privilege of visiting the Kithungururu Cooperative in Kenya last week. This coop produced the inaugural micro-lot of Olga’s Reserve. They delivered 48 sets of coffee farming tools. These coffee farming tools are from you, the BT Tribe, to the farmers of Kithungururu. Every time you bought a bag of Olga’s Reserve, you contributed to the purchasing of these tools which will improve the quantity and quality of coffee these farmers produce. Thank you!