Wachomi Foods

The fruit

The avocado varieties we press.

Hass does the heavy lifting. Fuerte bridges the seasons. Pinkerton, Reed and Bacon round out the smallholder mix. Meet the five avocados behind Wachomi's cold-pressed oil — where they grow, when they harvest, and what each brings to the press.

Meet the varieties

Five fruits, five jobs to do.

Pick a fruit to open it up — shape, skin, season, oil, and why it earns its place at the press.

Hass Fuerte Pinkerton Reed Bacon

The workhorse · our primary fruit

Hass

Pebbly-skinned and high in oil, Hass is the backbone of Kenya's avocado export — and of our press. It's the dominant planting across Murang'a's central highlands, grown by the smallholder networks we source from, and it tells you when it's ready: the skin darkens to near-black as the flesh ripens.

Shape
Oval, palm-sized
Skin when ripe
Pebbly, near-black
Harvest window
March – September
Oil content18–22%

Why we press it. The richest oil of any variety we handle, a long harvest window, and flesh that presses cleanly. Hass sets our yield — and our quality bar.

The season-bridge

Fuerte

Smooth green skin over a classic pear shape — Fuerte was Kenya's original export avocado and still thrives in the central highlands. It harvests just as Hass winds down, the dovetail that keeps fruit arriving at the gate nearly year-round. One catch: it stays green when ripe, so readiness is judged by feel, not colour.

Shape
Classic pear
Skin when ripe
Smooth, stays green
Harvest window
October – February
Oil content12–17%

Why we press it. Its season slots into Hass's off-months, smoothing our intake. Moderate oil, buttery texture — an excellent pressing fruit.

The generous one

Pinkerton

A long, slender pear with a small seed, Pinkerton packs more flesh per fruit than almost anything else we handle. Plantings are smaller in our corridor, so it arrives as part of the mixed smallholder intake — always a welcome sight on the weighing scale.

Shape
Long, slender pear
Skin when ripe
Green, lightly pebbled
Harvest window
October – January
Oil content14–18%

Why we press it. High flesh recovery and a small pit mean more oil per kilo of fruit — a favourite of growers and processors alike.

The late-season round

Reed

Round as a cannonball and green even when ripe, Reed comes in late, after the main Hass flush. Its thick, golden flesh has a nutty richness that carries straight through into the oil.

Shape
Round
Skin when ripe
Thick, stays green
Harvest window
December – March
Oil content13–17%

Why we press it. Reed rounds out the tail of the calendar and presses to a rich, golden oil — proof the supporting cast earns its keep.

The early bird

Bacon

Thin-skinned, mild and early, Bacon is among the first fruit of the cycle. Lighter in oil than Hass, but a welcome start to the pressing year — and in a zero-waste plant, its thin skins compost fast and clean.

Shape
Slim oval
Skin when ripe
Thin, smooth, green
Harvest window
September – November
Oil content8–12%

Why we press it. It bridges the turn of the season before Fuerte peaks — every sound fruit earns its place at the press.

Seasonality

Fruit at the gate, nearly all year.

Hass runs March to September in the central highlands; Fuerte takes the baton from October. The supporting varieties fill the shoulders. The rains move the dates — never the order.

Indicative harvest windows for the central highlands.

Dark band: peak harvest. Windows are indicative — altitude and the year's rains shift them by weeks.

Why variety matters

Oil is the point.

Oil content decides two things at the gate: when a block of fruit is ready to harvest, and what a tonne of it will yield at the press. Variety is the biggest lever — Hass can carry nearly three times the oil of an early-season Bacon.

We track it through dry matter at intake, the same maturity measure Kenya's export standards are built on. Fruit that isn't ready waits; fruit that is, presses within 24–48 hours.

Hass18–22%
Pinkerton14–18%
Reed13–17%
Fuerte12–17%
Bacon8–12%

Indicative ranges, fresh-weight basis. Oil content swings with altitude, season and maturity.

Zero waste starts at intake

Every fruit has a home.

Oil doesn't care about looks. Whatever the variety, sound fruit presses — and what the press leaves behind becomes three more products.

Perfectly ripe.

Peak-maturity fruit of any variety — checked for dry matter at intake, cold-pressed within 24–48 hours of delivery.

Off-grade & odd-shaped.

Too small, too big, blemished or bent — fruit the fresh market turns away presses to exactly the same oil. Farmers earn from what would otherwise rot.

Skins, seeds & cake.

Nothing leaves as waste: butter from a portion of the oil, composted fertiliser from the press cake, briquettes from skins and seeds. See the model →

Questions buyers ask

Avocado varieties, answered.

Which avocado variety has the most oil?

Hass leads the varieties we handle at roughly 18–22% oil by fresh weight. Pinkerton (14–18%) and Reed (13–17%) follow, with Fuerte (12–17%) mid-range and Bacon (8–12%) the lightest. Harvest maturity matters as much as variety, so we check dry matter at intake.

When is Hass avocado season in Kenya?

In Kenya's central highlands, the main Hass crop runs roughly March to September, peaking May to July. Fuerte harvests from about October to February, so between the two, Kenyan fruit is available nearly year-round. See the season calendar above.

What's the difference between Hass and Fuerte avocados?

Hass has pebbly skin that turns near-black when ripe and the highest oil content of the common varieties; Fuerte has smooth skin that stays green when ripe and a classic pear shape. Their seasons dovetail — Hass runs March–September, Fuerte October–February — which is why both anchor our intake.

Do you buy second-grade or off-grade avocados?

Yes — that's the point of a zero-waste press. Off-size, off-shape or blemished fruit presses to the same oil as Grade 1. If you grow in the Kenol–Maragua–Sagana corridor, register with our sourcing network: farmers@wachomifoods.com.

Which avocado varieties grow in Murang'a County?

Hass dominates new plantings and Fuerte is long established across the central highlands, with smaller plantings of Pinkerton, Reed and Bacon plus older local varieties in the smallholder mix. All of it has a use at the plant.

Want oil from this fruit?

Capacity is allocated in order of registered interest — first pressing May 2027.

Register buyer interest →