Blackcurrant & Rhubarb
Harvest: December 2022

Country: Kenya
Producer: Rungeto Farmers Cooperative
Region: Kirinyaga
Process: Washed
Variety: SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11
Altitude: 1,650 masl

Kenya mainly produces washed coffees, and is considered by many as the world’s number one quality producer. There are more than 700,000 coffee farmers (smallholders) in the country, representing about 55% of the production. The rest is produced mostly by large farms known as Estates. All the coffees we buy from Kenya are grown by smallholder farmers, each with 1-2 hectares of land. Many farmers will grow different crops and maybe have as few as 100 coffee trees. The farmers are organised in Cooperative Societies that act as umbrella organisations for the Factories (wet mills), where the smallholders deliver their coffee cherries for processing.

The Karimikui factory is located in the high altitudes of Kirinyaga - an area that grows more tea than coffee. Karimikui is currently under the greater Rungeto Farmers Cooperative society, which has other high performing factories like Kiangoi and Kii. This lot consists of coffees from hundreds of smallholders from the area surrounding the washing station, and the team at the factory hand sort the cherries before they go into production. The coffees are dry fermented, before being washed and graded in channels, and dried on raised beds. The farmers in the area mainly grow SL28 and SL34, but as with almost all Kenyan cooperative coffees, there can be a mix of everything. Other common cultivars are K7, Ruiru 11 and now also Batian.

The coffees from Karimikui were outstanding last season, and this year is no different! Roasted for filter brewing, you can expect a smooth mouthfeel with flavours of rhubarb, blackcurrant and rosehip.