The New Normal - Kenya Fall Break, part 4, Kiambethu Tea Farm

Richard, enjoying the gardens at Kiambethru Tea Farm

We spent a leisurely time at the Kiambethu Tea Farm on our last full day in Kenya.  The farm is a short ride from Karen, and we drove on an extremely bumpy road for the last part of the trip.  Situated at 7,200 feet, Kiambethu was bought by a man named AB McDonell in 1910.  He was the first to grow tea as a commercial venture in Kenya and now tea is a major export of the country.  Actually, 50% of British tea is exported from Kenya.  

Meanwhile, the farm has passed through the generations of AB's family, with parcels being sold to other growers.  We had the pleasure of getting a tour by his granddaughter, Fiona Vernon, who has always lived here, and currently produces her tea from two acres of land.

Fiona, proprietor of the tea farm

We arrived at the farm at the appointed time of 11 AM.  A small group of people joined us, and we proceeded to learn everything about the process of growing and selling tea.  While Fiona told us all about her beautiful farm, we enjoyed huge fields of tea as a backdrop.  

In the picture above, Fiona is holding a large basket, the type in which workers place the tea they pick.  She also holds a stick which is laid on top of the bushes to create a cutting line; only the top three leaves are harvested.

Sheep walking between the fields of tea

The tea grown on Fiona's farm is "cloned" tea, so there are no flowers on the plants and the leaves are serrated.  It is all organic and mostly picked by hand.  Since machines cannot discriminate between quality smaller, higher leaves, hand-picked means better tea.  

Judy in the tea fields across from the forest

Tea fields across from the forest

A worker can pick 10-15 kilos of tea per day and is paid by how much she picks.  It is hard work.  For one thing, the plants are very close together so pickers must push their way through.  They actually wear think aprons to protect their legs and bodies, but clearly this is challenging work.  Nobody was working on the day we were there, as it was a Kenyan holiday.

Tea as far as the eye can see

This year has been a dry one in this region and tea needs rain.  Consequently, tea production has been off, so Kiambethu's contract workers don't work as steadily, picking about every 10 days.

Also, since the farm is at a high elevation, it is possible to get frost and hail, which can damage the plants.  When this happens,  production can also go down.

Here you can see the tea plants a little more closely

After the tea is picked, it is brought to a tea factory.  There it is inspected, weighed and processed.  The blacker the tea, the better in terms of taste, so tea "tasters" are employed at the factory.  The tasters test the tea every hour and adjust the process if there are issues.  It's like wine tasting, only with tea!  It is interesting to note that various types of soil make tea taste different.  Therefore, most tea is blended, so the consistently of the brand of tea you buy will remain the same.  Later, the processed tea is sold at auction.  

Having a spot of tea at the farm (Richard chose to drink coffee, the snob)

Next we took a walk in the indigenous forest on the grounds. Here we learned about the medicinal value of various plants and fungus in the forest.  There are colobus monkeys here as well, but unfortunately we didn't spot any.

Food put out for the moneys, so they won't eat out of the farm gardens

Medicinal mushrooms . . . hmmm?

Avocados growing on the farm

We ate homemade ice cream made from the milk of the 17 cows living on the farm

After that, we had a three-course lunch on the lawn that was delicious.  Naturally, included was tea and other drinks.  It is interesting that Kenyans enjoy "Chai tea", which is black tea brewed in boiling water, and later simmered with milk and sugar.  We also enjoyed the gardens, which had many beautiful flowers and trees.

Beautiful rose in the garden

Judy, enjoying the quiet of the tea Farm

I imagine life on this farm must be a tranquil one.  The house is surrounded by acres of tea and a beautiful forest; what could be better?

The house at Kiambethu Tea Farm

After leaving the farm, we stopped at the Maasai Market, in search of souvenirs.  Items available ranged from jewelry to blankets, carvings, and other items from all over Kenya and Africa.  But alas, this market proved to be too much, even for a seasoned barterer. The shop owners were just all over us, and wouldn't allow us to look without shoving something in our faces. So, we ended up at a local Carrefour grocery store to pick up a few souvenirs. :-)

Items for sale at the Maasai Market

Got this at Carrefour

We didn't spend any Kenyan Shillings at the market

Our time in East Africa was made even more memorably because we got to know an awesome couple. Our hosts, Sandy and Steve Morad, were so gracious and generous, and we can never repay their kindness. Asante sana, friends, Richard and I will always remember our experience in Kenya.

We stayed on the campus of Africa International University

Sandy and Steve, in front of their home on the campus where we stayed