LIGHT & JUICY

Nyeri - Tetu / 1700 masl. / SL28 & 34/ Washed / SCA - 88.00p

Blackcurrant, lemon, black pepper, tea-like finish.

This AB lot was grown by a group of smallholder farmers who are all members of the Mutheka Farmers Society (FCS) and deliver their coffee to Kiandu Coffee Factory. 

Handpicked coffee cherries are sent to the mill the same day, in which they are carefully sorted. Employees from the factory supervise the procedure, and any cherries that are unripe or damaged will not be accepted. As farmer members are rewarded for picking and delivering only the ripest cherries, any unwanted coffee will get sent home, and the grower will have to find a location to dry it, with the coffee being provided only at the end of the season as low-quality 'Mbuni' — natural-process coffee with a low price.

The cherries are then pulped and transferred to one of the factory's fermentation tanks, where they will ferment for 12 to 48 hours, depending on the ambient temperature. Following that, the coffee is properly washed to remove the rest of mucilage before being graded. Depending on whether there is room on the factory's raised drying beds, the coffee will either be transported to dry on those or soaked in circulating water for up to 24 hours. The coffee will slowly dry here for 2 to 3 weeks, during which time it will be turned frequently and covered during the hottest period of the day.