Peach, milk chocolate, lemon, grapefruit acidity

Producer: Kibirigwi Farmers’ Co-op
Origin: Kirinyaga, Kenya
Varietal: Batian, Ruiru 11, SL28, SL34
Elevation: 2000 masl

Thunguri wet mill is part of Kibirigwi Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited, one of a few washing stations or “factories” that form the co-operative in Karatina, Kirinyaga county. The co-op works with over 1,100 local small farmers.

The Region

Kirinyaga county borders Nyeri, lying between the Eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range, which forms part of the Eastern end of the Great Rift Valley, and the Western slopes of Mt. Kenya. Nyeri town (county headquarters) acts as a destination for those visiting Aberdare National Park and Mt. Kenya.

The combination of fertile soil, seasonal rainfall, and high altitude provides the ideal climate for coffees characterised by high acidity, full body, and ripe fruit flavours. Due to the cool temperatures at altitude, particularly at night time, coffees from Nyeri tend to develop and mature slowly producing very dense, hard beans high in acidity and complexity.

The Process

The coffee is wet processed, where the fully ripe cherries are:

• Pulped
• Fermented for 12 - 48 hours (depending on climatic conditions)
• Washed
• Dried slowly over 2 - 3 weeks on raised African beds until the moisture content is reduced to 10-12%.

The coffee is then processed at Othaya dry mill where it is rested in parchment for 3 weeks before being hulled, cleaned, and graded by bean size. Finally, the coffee is carefully handpicked before being bagged in GrainPro for export from Mombasa.