Author: Qahwa World – Nairobi
Source: Kenya Coffee Flavor Map Press Release
Date: October 28, 2026

Kenya Launches National Coffee Flavor Map Project

Kenya has launched an ambitious project to document the diverse flavors of its coffee. The Kenya Coffee Flavor Map brings together producers, cooperatives, researchers, and sensory professionals from across the country.

The initiative aims to build a national coffee flavor atlas. It will draw on approximately 500 samples collected from 34 coffee-growing counties. The project is recruiting both Kenyan and international cuppers to help with the analysis.

The goal is to bring together 300 participants. Together, they will document the relationships between flavor, regional origins, cultivated varieties, and production practices. The findings will be made freely available to the public.

Event Details and Program

The main gathering will take place from November 14 to 16, 2026, at the Shamba Events Centre in Loresho, Nairobi. Professional blind sensory evaluations will be held on November 15 and 16.

The Flavor Map is the central sensory project within the Kenya Coffee Flavor & Origin Expo. Across all three days, the Expo’s exhibition and trade area will feature stands for Kenyan producers, cooperatives, coffee brands, and local entrepreneurs. These stands will connect them with international buyers, roasters, equipment suppliers, and other industry partners.

Running alongside the Expo, Creative Coffee Week will add public cupping sessions, barista demonstrations, and cultural activities. Visitors will also have opportunities to explore Kenya’s coffee origins.

The Expo is presented by the Government of Kenya, the Coffee Board of Kenya, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Kenya. Partners include the Kenya Coffee Platform and UNIDO. Sponsors and supporters include the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), Ecotact, Bideli Roasters, and Torch Coffee. Creative Coffee Events and Coffee Magazine are media and organizing partners.

On November 14, the Kenya Coffee Origin Conference will bring together academics, scientists, producers, baristas, roasters, and entrepreneurs. The educational program will connect the Flavor Map’s investigation of regional coffee identities with questions facing the entire value chain. Sessions will cover topics such as regenerative agriculture, women in coffee, and international marketing. Practical demonstrations will cover biochar and vermicomposting.

The welcome session and the Flavor Map introduction on November 14 are free to attend. Other sessions in the accompanying program are ticketed.

Table 1: Key Facts at a Glance

Methodology and the 2027 Atlas

Kenyan scientists, researchers, producers, and technical professionals will work alongside Kenyan and international cuppers. They will connect sensory observations with geographic, environmental, and production data.

Each coffee will be evaluated blind by multiple cuppers. Standardized preparation and blind evaluation will ensure consistency. The combined records will inform the atlas. Further methodological details are available in the official project handbook.

The resulting atlas, planned for publication in 2027, will combine regional profiles, visual maps, and a sensory database. The map and supporting information are intended to be freely available for download and use. This will support producers, cooperatives, buyers, roasters, researchers, educators, and consumers.

The atlas can also support marketing as a form of education. It will give producers, roasters, and cafes information to explain regional differences, production practices, and the people behind Kenyan coffee to buyers and consumers.

Marty Pollack, co-founder of Torch Coffee, explains the philosophy behind the project. “Kenyan professionals are the hosts,” he says. “International cuppers bring their own experience and have a chance to learn from the people who know these coffees at source. That is how new relationships start.”

Torch Coffee’s Kenyan operation is the project’s technical partner. The company has worked with Kenyan professionals and research institutions since 2023. It reports training more than 15,000 students across its international network.

The framework builds on four annual editions of Torch’s Yunnan Coffee Flavor Map in China, from 2021 to 2024. The 2023 edition brought together 760 Q Graders who profiled more than 23,000 cups. That project produced downloadable regional flavor maps, demonstrating how collective sensory evaluation can generate practical references for producers, buyers, and educators.

Kenya’s Growing Domestic Coffee Culture

Kenya’s commercial coffee industry grew under British colonial rule within an export-oriented production system. The Flavor Map builds on Kenyan research and regional knowledge to document a diversity of coffees beyond the country’s best-known origins.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s Coffee Development and Marketing Strategy 2024-2029 reports that about 95% of Kenyan coffee was exported in green form in 2020/21. Imported instant coffee has also been part of the domestic market.

Over the past decade, Kenyan roasters, cafe owners, trainers, and baristas have helped more people experience locally grown coffee at home. The Agriculture and Food Authority recorded an increase in coffee shops from 231 in 2019 to 791 in 2023.

“Our cafes are full of people who would have ordered tea ten years ago,” says Ritesh Doshi, owner and CEO of Nairobi-based Spring Valley Coffee. “When coffee is roasted, branded and served in Kenya, the jobs, the skills and the margin stay in Kenya.”

Edwin Wanjiru, a Kenyan coffee professional and Q Grader, adds: “Coffee is part of Kenya’s identity, rooted in our land, our people, and generations of hard work. That is changing as more Kenyans discover, prepare and share the coffees we grow.”

Call for Cuppers and Exhibitors

Professional cuppers are invited to apply free of charge through the official application form. Selection considers professional experience and geographic representation. Selected participants will join the sensory evaluations on November 15 and 16.

Applicants may qualify through recognized sensory or cupping credentials, national cupper certification, Cup of Excellence jury experience, or at least two years of hands-on professional cupping experience.

Exhibitors are also invited. Producers, cooperatives, coffee brands, equipment manufacturers, service providers, and international roasters can contact [email protected]. Priority is given to producer cooperatives, county-level grower groups, and smallholder organizations.

Visitors can contact the organizing team for information on public activities, conference access, and tickets. International participants should consult the Kenya Travel Brief for accommodation and transport information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Author: Qahwa World – Nairobi | Source: Kenya Coffee Flavor Map Press Release | Date: October 28, 2026