Kapkoros Tea Process | From Green Leaf to Kenyan Tea
Follow the journey of premium Kenyan tea from the highland farms of Bomet County through our structured factory operations and quality-controlled processing stages.
From the Farm to Kapkoros Tea Factory
The journey of Kapkoros tea begins on smallholder family farms scattered across the Bomet highlands. At altitudes exceeding 1,500 meters, conditions are ideal for slow leaf growth, allowing deep flavor profiles to develop. Farmers harvest only the finest leaves, ensuring consistency from the very start of the supply chain.
Green Leaf Collection and Buying Centres
Farmers deliver their freshly plucked green leaf to one of our 180 buying centres located throughout the agricultural catchment. These centres act as community hubs and first-stage quality checkpoints, ensuring that leaf is sorted and weighed near the farms before transportation to the factory.
Leaf Reception and Quality Checks
Upon arrival at the main Kapkoros processing facility, the green leaf is inspected by our factory quality recorders. This reception check ensures only high-quality leaves (complying with the "two leaves and a bud" harvesting standard) are allowed into the manufacturing stream, protecting flavor integrity.
Withering
Leaves are spread evenly on large withering troughs. Gentle, controlled air currents are blown through the troughs to reduce leaf moisture content, making them soft and pliable for subsequent rolling and cutting stages without damaging the chemical cell structure.
CTC Processing for Black Tea
The withered leaf undergoes the Crush, Tear, and Curl (CTC) process. High-speed rollers rupture the leaf cells, releasing essential juices and enzymes. This mechanical action breaks the leaves into uniform granular particles, which prepare them for even oxidation and quick brewing.
Fermentation / Oxidation
The CTC granules are spread on oxidation tables under strict temperature and humidity controls. Over a period of hours, oxygen triggers enzymatic chemical changes, transforming the leaf color from green to rich coppery brown, developing the signature brisk flavor and bright cup liquor.
Drying
To halt the oxidation process, the copper-colored tea granules are passed through fluid bed dryers. High-temperature hot air dries the tea, bringing the moisture level down to approximately 3%, locking in the chemical qualities, and turning the granules black.
Sorting and Grading
The dry black tea is sorted using electrostatic fiber extractors and vibro-sieves. This separates the tea by particle size into different grades, such as the premium primary grades BP1 and PF1, as well as secondary grades suited for different buyer preferences.
Packaging and Product Listings
Finished tea is packed into multi-layer paper sacks or retail packaging, preserving freshness during shipping. We publish updated package listings online, making it easy for wholesale and retail buyers to inspect tea batches currently available for shipment.
Buyer Quote Requests
The final stage is connecting tea shipments to global marketplaces. Registered buyers and new distributors can browse our tea portfolios, add selected tea packages to their online basket, and submit quote requests directly to our sales dashboard for review and invoice processing.
Learn More About Us
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