Kenya

Kenya is commonly described as having an almost sweet taste accompanied by wine-like or fruity overtones. They are well-known all over the world and sought after for their intense, full-bodied flavors accompanied by overtones of berry, citrus fruits, and mild floral fragrance.

REGION : Tetu sub-county, Nyeri County, Kenya

FARMER : 368 farmers organized around the Thageini cooperative

VARIETY : SL28, SL34, and Ruiru 11

PROCESS : Fully washed and dried on raised beds

SOIL : Volcanic loam 

ALTITUDE : 1680-1720 masl

ROAST LEVEL : 3/5

AROMA : Herbal, Rich, Fruity

FLAVOR : Sweet, Brown Sugar, Lemon

ACIDITY : Juicy

BODY : Full

WHY WE LIKE IT : Clean, sweet, and complex

RECOMMENDED FOR : Coffee lover looking for a vibrant, exciting brew!

Mt. Kenya, at the helm of Kenya’s Central Province, is the second tallest peak on the continent of Africa and a commanding natural presence. The mountain itself is a single point inside a vast and surreal thicket of ascending national forest and active game protection communities. The central counties of Kenya extend from the center of the national park, like five irregular pie slices, with their points meeting at the peak of the mountain. It is along the lower edge of the forests where, in wet, high elevation communities with mineral-rich soil (Mt. Kenya is a stratovolcano) many believe the best coffees in Kenya, often the world, are crafted. Nyeri is perhaps the most well-known of these central counties. 

Kenya’s coffee is dominated by a cooperative system of production, whose members vote on representation, marketing and milling contracts for their coffee, as well as profit allocation. Aguthi Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS), whose membership includes Thageini, Kagumo, Gititu and Gaaki factories, was first incorporated in 1988. Across the society famer members average 200 trees apiece. Tetu sub-county, where the members live, is right on the edge of Kenya’s Aberdare mountain range—so, combined with the massive biome of nearby Mt. Kenya, is surrounded by high elevation national parks on multiple sides, both of which contribute cold nighttime temperatures, rich soils, and fresh ground water to this corner of Nyeri county. 

As cherry comes to Thageini factory it is hand-sorted on intake to eliminate any imperfections and then weighed and logged under the contributing farmer’s name. Cherry is blended and depulped, and then fermented in water for 24 hours. Once fermentation is complete, the parchment is rinsed and moved to raised beds for drying. The drying phase is typically 2-3 weeks for the coffee to reach 10-12% humidity. Finally, fully dried parchment is rested in large, perforated bins on site, a process that allows the bean’s internal moisture to stabilize for the long transit and shelf life ahead.