Kenya Kayu
Regular price $22.00
We love Kenyan Single Origins and with the Kenya Kayu, we present to you a highly complex cup to be enjoyed with your favourite percolation method.
Overall: Red grapes, plums with sugarcane notes and an umami finish. Medium bodied with rounded acidity.
| Origin Name: | Kenya - Kayu AB |
| Farm/Mill: | 1,931 smallholders that belong to the New Kiriti Farmers Co-operative Society / Kayu Factory |
|
Varietal: |
Ruiru 11 |
| Processing: | Fully Washed and dried on raised beds |
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Altitude: |
1,650 meters above seal level |
|
Town / City: |
Murang'a County |
| Region: | Aberdare Range, Kenya |
Please select (ground coffee) when choosing your intended coffee bean purchase if you would like us to grind it for you. Please also leave us a comment in your check out cart to let us know the brew method and grind size you need it in.
Additional Information:
With nearly 700,000 coffee producers, roughly 70% of which are smallholder producers, Kenya shines as a unique coffee-producing country in East Africa.
Within the Murang’a Countyalong the slopes of the Aberdare Range is the Kayu Factory, or wet mill. 1,931 smallholders in this region contribute coffee cherries to this mill and belong to the New Kiriti Farmers Co-operative Society.
Situated at 1,650 meters above sea level, this region is defined by its bright red soils, full of rich nutrients for coffee trees. The high altitude allows for ideal temperatures and rainfall for the slow maturation of coffee cherries. Smallholders in this region grow coffee on small plots of land and pick the cherries during harvest to deliver to the mill.
There are two harvests in the Murang’a County, one occurring from March –May and another from October –December. Once the cherries reach the mill, the coffee is washed with water from the Kagondo River. The water is pumped via a diesel engine into reservoir tanks. After the cherries are pulped, the coffee is placed in large tanks to soak in water and ferment. This allows for the breakdown of the exterior mucilage, normally lasting overnight. The coffee is then spread evenly on raised tables to dry in the open sun until a targeted moisture content is reached. Producers and the Factory collectively value sustainability, and various projects have been enacted to reduce environmental impact. Wastewater used for processing is carefully placed into soak pits to seep back into the soil without polluting the local drinking source.
Ruiru 11 is used by all producers contributing cherries to the Kayu Factory. This varietal was developed by the Coffee Research Institute in 1985 to combat the spreading Coffee Leaf Rust and Coffee Berry Disease.