Bags 0
Warehouses Oakland
Flavor Profile Lemon, red berry, heirloom tomato
Out of stock
Smallholder farmers organized around the Kamuchege Factory
1700 - 1800 meters
SL28, SL34, Batian, and Ruiru 11
Volcanic loam
Kiambu County, Kenya
Fully washed and dried in raised beds
October-December
Conventional
With just over 200 bags (60 kg) of total production coming from 220 farmers who cultivate around 250 coffee trees on half-acre plots, the Kamuchege factory is turning out a rare and exclusive lot of Kenyan coffee. Kamuchege is one of 13 factories organized under the Komothai Farmers Cooperative Society in Kiambu county where the focus is to inspire the next generation of coffee producers to take the reins at the factories and bring in a new era of innovation. Factory management is critical in a system where harvested cherry is coming from so many different small parcels. Cherry classification is the most critical variable for ensuring cup quality. Only the ripest cherries are delivered to the Kamuchege factory where additional hand sorting and floating to remove less dense and damaged beans also happens before the coffee is depulped, fermented and washed. The coffee is dried over a period of two weeks on raised beds, which are carefully constructed to ensure proper air circulation and temperature control for optimal drying. When the coffee is milled for export, the green beans are sorted by screen size and graded according to size and shape. Larger beans (17/18 screen) are labeled AA, 15/16 screen are labeled AB, and the round peaberry are labeled PB.