Tea processing is the method in which the leaves from the tea plant Camellia sinensis are transformed into the dried leaves for brewing tea. The categories of tea are distinguished by the processing they undergo. In its most general form, tea processing involves different manners and degrees of oxidation of the leaves, stopping the oxidation, forming the tea and drying it. The innate flavor of the dried tea leaves is determined by the type of cultivar of the tea bush, the quality of the plucked tea leaves, and the manner and quality of the production processing they undergo. After processing, a tea may be blended with other teas or mixed with flavourants to alter the flavor of the final tea. List of KTDA Tea Factories in Kisii County
List of KTDA Tea Factories in Kisii County
Ogembo Tea Factory
Ogembo Tea Factory is one of the small holder tea factories managed by Kenya Tea Development Agency limited. The factory was commissioned in July 1984.
Location:
- The factory is located in , Gucha District some 21 Km from Kisii town along the Kisii – Kilgoris tarmac road. The factory is 389 Km from Nairobi.
Number of Growers:
- Presently Ogembo tea factory has 28,500 registered growers.
Location in Latitude and Longitude:
- The Geo-Reference of the factory is: South of Equator S 00° 48’ 895 East of Greenwich Means Time. 0 E 034° 43’ 842 .7.
- The factory stands at an altitude of 5565 feet above sea level.
Geographical Features:
- The nearest natural feature to the factory is the Kisii highlands which are located in the North East, and Eastern part of the factory to the North West are shores of Lake Victoria
Kind of tea grown:
- Clone tea.
Access Roads:
- The factory is accessed by the Kisii- Kilgoris tarmac road
Feed Rivers:
- The major rivers in the area are Gucha and Magena rivers.
Climate:
- Moderately warm and wet. Precipitation is uniform with two peaks in April–may and October- November.
- The Land demarcation for the smallholder tea growers in the gentle undulating hills and slopes gives them a picturesque thick green carpet to behold.
Soils:
- Rich red loam soil with high clay content.
Contacts:
Email: info@ogembo.ktdateas.com
Itumbe Tea Factory
Itumbe tea factory was constructed between 2003 and 2006 and later commissioned in October 2006 to serve the small scale tea farmers within Kisii County, Sameta /Nyamache sub- counties, having a processing capacity of 10 million Kg’s of green leaf per year.
The Factory is located in Sameta sub-county, Kisii County, about 3kms from Itumbe market, 15kms from Kisii town along Kisii-Kilgoris tarmac road. The Factory lies at an altitude of about 6,321 ft above sea level.
There are 12,409 registered growers, 58 coded collection centre, 32 un-coded centers and 11,462,922 censured bushes. The Factory produces 10 million Kg’s per year.
The Factory is involved in Corporate Social Responsibilities such as feeder roads maintenance, purchasing tree seedling for planting, KTDA foundation scholarships, providing clean water for drinking to the local community and wellness training- health issues.
The Factory hopes to accomplish the following projects in future; tea market diversification – orthodox tea production and other specialty teas, tea value addition and product diversification, modernization/automation and improvements in processing capacity – in progress, arresting green leaf hawking menace, government subsidy, government stabilization fund and generation of own energy.
Contacts:
Postal Address: P.O. Box 2979-40200 Kisii
Telephone: 254-020-2342932
Email: info@itumbe.ktdateas.com
