Description Tai Agri grew out of a dairy operation originally founded in 1990, not turning to coffee until after the pandemic. Their first couple of seasons were challenging, with drought wiping out the majority of their starter seedlings, but this pushed them toward a more deliberate, irrigation-intensive model that today covers 17 acres across three blocks, planted mostly with Batian, some Ruiru 11, and with Cordia and Grevillea providing shade. Tai Agri is one of the farms that we came to know through the West of Rift Farmers’ Caucus, where John Cherogony (owner) and Valentine Togom (manager) were early participants. Their early adoption is reflected in the farm’s tidy organization from the field to the washing station and in Valentine’s keen attention to detail—her pruner always in hand and often put to use during our February 2026 visit. Despite Batian’s strong reputation in the cup, Valentine was among the only farmers who also spoke highly of it in the field—saying that while Ruiru 11 is fuller and steadier, Batian, with its taller, ganglier, Christmas tree-esque silhouette is easier to read, making troubleshooting more intuitive and improvement that much more rewarding.
