Kenya Kirinyaga Baragwi Karumandi AA Ecotact

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Flavor Profile Lemon, brown sugar, bright

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About this coffee

Grower

Coffee farmers organized around the Karumandi Factory

Altitude

1130 - 1900 masl

Variety

SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian

Soil

Volcanic loam

Region

Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Process

Fully washed and dried on raised beds

Harvest

October - December

Certification

Conventional

Coffee Background

From the rich volcanic slopes of Mount Kenya, the Karumandi factory has been consistently turning out some of Kenya’s best lots since 1961. Allegedly the Karumandi factory was named after the moles inhabiting the area. That may seem like a stretch, but we really dig this coffee, and we think you will too. The Karumandi factory is one of 12 factories managed by the Baragwi Farmer’s Cooperative Society, which has been in operation since 1953. Baragwi FCS also funds the Mount Kenya Project, which aids local women in developing small businesses. Individual farmers typically harvest from around 250 coffee trees on half-acre plots and deliver cherry to the factory. At the factory only the ripest cherries are delivered, and additional hand sorting and floating is done to remove less dense and damaged beans before the coffee is depulped, fermented and washed. After the coffee is washed, it’s soaked in fresh water for long periods of time to solidify the hallmark Kenyan profiles. 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.