With the formal enactment of the Coffee Act, the legal landscape has completely restructured. The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) no longer holds this power.
If you are setting up a commercial quality control facility—specifically a Coffee Value Analysis (CVA)-compliant lab—the mandate for licensing and compliance is strictly split across a new, dedicated institutional framework.
Here is exactly who is mandated to oversee and authorize your coffee lab under the current laws:
1. The Coffee Board of Kenya (The Principal Authority)
The new Act dissolved the AFA Coffee Directorate’s grip on the sector and returned full oversight to the standalone Coffee Board of Kenya.
- The Mandate: They are the absolute authority for issuing Cupping Laboratory Licenses.
- What they check: To get your license, the Board evaluates your physical infrastructure, ensuring it meets strict national standards. For a modern facility aiming for CVA alignment, they ensure your setup adheres to the physical specifications required to accurately assess specialty coffee protocols.
2. Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
While the Coffee Board handles the specific industry licensing, you cannot operate an analytical or commercial grading lab without standard conformity.
- The Mandate: Under the new framework, the Coffee Board is legally mandated to work hand-in-hand with KEBS to develop and enforce industry codes of practice.
- What they check: KEBS oversees the technical calibration of your lab equipment (moisture meters, standard water activity meters, precision scales) and standardizes the chemical or physical testing methodologies used within your facility.
3. Your Specific County Government
Devolution splits operational registration away from national policy. Under the new licensing regime, the value chain is highly decentralized.
- The Mandate: Every physical coffee installation—whether it is an independent lab, or a lab integrated within a mill, roasting plant, or estate—must be registered with the County Government where it is physically located.
- What they check: Public health compliance, county business permits, and local zoning/structural approvals.
4. Coffee Research and Training Institute (CRTI)
Carved out as an independent scientific entity separate from KALRO, the CRTI is the custodian of Kenya’s technical coffee protocols.
- The Mandate: While they don’t issue your commercial business license, they dictate the technical and educational benchmarks for the professionals working inside your lab. If your lab intends to run certified professional training or specialized sensory validation, the curriculum and technical compliance must align with CRTI’s nationwide research and training framework.
In Summary: Who do you actually deal with?
To get your lab running, you will not interact with AFA at all. Instead, your regulatory path follows these three steps:
- County Government: For local structural and business registration.
- KEBS: For equipment calibration and protocol standardization.
- Coffee Board of Kenya: For the final, definitive Cupping Laboratory License.
Are you looking to establish this as an independent, third-party commercial evaluation lab, or is it going to be integrated into an existing milling/roasting operation?