Mt Kenya Tea Stakeholders Reject Machine Flavour Tasting, Back Human Expertise

Speaking at Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu county when he met farmers , the factory chairman Joseph Rwanjau dismissed the move, insisting that only human taste can accurately determine a tea’s true flavor. He said international buyers prefer the traditional biological testing method and warned that adopting machine-based testing would negatively affect Kenya’s exports.

“We prefer biological testing. The taste of a human being cannot be the taste of a machine. We tried machine testing before, but the buyers refused,” said Rwanjau.

He said it would be disastrous to dictate new testing methods to the market, noting that the tea industry thrives on consumer trust built over decades through biological tasting.

Rwanjau also dismissed allegations that tea farmers from the Eastern region receive higher bonuses than those in the Western, terming the claims as unfounded. He said tea quality is the only factor that determines pricing and bonus payments.

“Tea prices are determined purely by quality, not region. Rukuriri’s competitive edge and high bonus payments are due to the quality of leaf we produce and our commitment to value addition,” he stated.

To sustain higher earnings, Rwanjau announced that the factory has invested KSh 10 million in a new tea-packing machine, which has already been imported and will begin operations in December. He said the new equipment will increase the share of locally sold, value-added products from 2 percent to 10 percent, ensuring higher returns for farmers in the next payment cycle.

He attributed the factory’s strong financial performance to its focus on value addition, including production of branded tea bags and premium tea leaves.

Rwanjau further revealed that Rukuriri Tea Factory is focusing on expanding raw tea production. This year, he said, the factory has collected 1.7 million kilograms of green leaf, up from 1.6 million kilograms during the same period last year.

However, he raised concern over the delayed completion of the factory’s orthodox tea processing line, saying the setback has limited the factory’s ability to diversify and improve bonus payments.

The chairman also said fertilizer for farmers has already arrived at the Port of Mombasa and will be distributed soon to boost productivity.

He emphasized that increasing production volumes would reduce the average cost of production and, in turn, raise overall earnings for both the factory and its farmers.

The push for machine-based tea testing stems from growing discontent among tea farmers, particularly in the Rift Valley, who claim that the traditional biological grading system has been unfair and inconsistent, leading to lower bonuses for their produce. Many of these farmers argue that human-led tasting is prone to bias and subjective judgment, and they believe that introducing technology could bring transparency and uniformity to the grading process,  a proposal that has now sparked sharp debate across Kenya’s tea-growing regions.