Great Rift Coffee is a family-run farm established five years ago, after a transition from from sugarcane to coffee with the aim of showcasing the potential of Nandi Hills as an emerging specialty region. The same volcanic soils that supported sugarcane for decades now nourish SL28, Batian, and Ruiru 11 trees. This lot is sourced from a specific plot on the farm called Chebaibai.
Great Rift operate a multi-agricultural approach: sugarcane is still grown on parts of the estate, several bee hives are dotted around the farm to support pollination, and they produce hay and keep livestock. The livestock manure is composted and applied to our coffee fields, while water from the pulping station is channelled into the sugarcane plots, creating a circular, regenerative system. The team oversee every stage of production themselves — from field management to processing — ensuring traceability, careful handling, and a continuous focus on quality improvement season after season.
The Region
Nandi Hills sits along the edge of the Great Rift Valley at 1,900–2,100 meters, a high-elevation zone traditionally known for tea rather than coffee. Coffee here is still young and many of the estates, including Great Rift, were planted within the last 10–15 years, making Nandi one of Kenya’s most exciting emerging growing regions. The area is home to the Nandi people, whose long farming tradition and community-driven land stewardship shape how coffee is grown today. Rich volcanic soils, cool misty mornings, and abundant sugarcane farms contribute to a naturally sweet and vibrant cup profile. As more producers invest in the region, Nandi Hills is quickly developing a reputation for clean, high-elevation coffees that offer a fresh, modern expression of Kenyan terroir.
The Process
The coffee is wet processed, where the fully ripe cherries are:
• Pulped
• Fermented for 12 - 48 hours (depending on climatic conditions)
• Washed
• Dried slowly over 1 - 2 weeks on raised African beds until the moisture content is reduced to 10-12%.
The Great Rift drying process is particularly meticulous with a focus on thin spreading of parchment to maximise the drying surface area, 100% natural sun-drying and temperature management using shade during the hottest part of the day.
