About This Coffee
Karumandi Factory operates under the Baragwi Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) which was registered in 1953 and is among the oldest coffee cooperatives in Kenya. Baragwi FCS manages 12 wet mills across Kirinyaga County and currently has over 16,892 registered members. Around 1,700 of these smallholder farmers deliver ripe cherry to Karumandi.
Baragwi FCS is very well known across the region, and it’s one of Kenya’s larger FCS. Its objectives include promoting the social and economic interests of its members and ensuring that members achieve the very best price possible for their coffee. Today the FCS has a workforce of 137 staff members, out of which around 23% are women.
Cultivation
Farmers contributing to this lot grow SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 and Batian at altitudes between 1,700 and 1,800 meters. Farmers typically manage small plots averaging 300 coffee trees, which are usually grown alongside subsistence food crops, fruit trees and other crops, often used for animal fodder. Baragwi FCS works closely with farmers to maintain high agricultural standards.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Ripe cherries are selectively handpicked and delivered to Kianjiru Factory. Upon arrival, cherries are pulped and fermented for 12 to 24 hours. The parchment is then washed through grading channels using clean water before being soaked in clean, circulating water for around 24 hours. This measure helps to manage drying bed availability at the peak of the harvest season while also having additional benefits for quality and longevity for the coffee itself. After soaking, parchment is delivered to dry on raised beds, where it will be turned regularly and covered during the hottest part of the day and evenings to ensure even drying. Normal drying time is 10 to 20 days, depending on the weather.
AA Grade
Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AA beans are the largest size. AA grade coffees are those that are 17/18 screen size, meaning that they are larger than 7.2 millimeters.
About SL28 & SL34
SL28 and SL34 were two of the cultivars released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) during the height of SAL’s research in Kenya in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the cultivars of choice for most growers thanks to their deep root structure that allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation. SL varieties also had higher yields than the French Bourbon rootstock that they replaced and were known to be somewhat more disease resistant.
About Batian
Developed by Kenya's Coffee Research Institute in 2010, Batian is named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya and is resistant to both coffee berry disease (CBD) and coffee leaf rust (CLR). The variety has the added benefit of early maturity – cropping after only two years. Some challenges (such as vegetative structure) have prevented it from becoming widespread so far, but its popularity is certainly growing.
About Ruiru 11
Ruiru 11, a hybrid of Catimor and SL cultivars, is both Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) and Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) resistant. Plus, it can be planted at a much higher density than the SL varieties, making optimal use of small plots of land.
Ruiru 11 has slowly ‘taken root’ across most of Kenya’s coffee growing landscape. The only issues were that with a shallower root structure, many farmers found the plant less hardy in drought conditions, and the trees required a more intense feeding program. Over time, farmers have found that by grafting Ruiru-11 to SL varieties they could take advantage of SL trees’ expansive root system and still reap the increased yields and higher immunity to disease of Ruiru-11.
Due to the grafted Ruiru-11’s growing popularity, most farms in Kenya today, both big and small, have a mixture of Ruiru-11 and SL varieties. As SL trees age, many farmers are opting to turn more towards Ruiru-11 (or the grafting solution) thanks to its ease of use and higher resistance to diseases.
Source: https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/ruiru-11 & https://sucafina.com/na/news/think-you-know-kenya-coffee-varieties-think-again
Coffee in Kenya
Though coffee growing had a relatively late start in Kenya, the industry has gained and maintained a impressive reputation. Since the start of production, Kenyan coffee has been recognized for its high-quality, meticulous preparation and exquisite flavors. Our in-country sister company, Sucafina Kenya, works with farmers across the country to ensure these exceptional coffees gain the accolades they deserve.
Today, more than 600,000 smallholders farming fewer than 5 acres compose 99% of the coffee farming population of Kenya. Their farms cover more than 75% of total coffee growing land and produce nearly 70% of the country’s coffee. These farmers are organized into hundreds of Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS), all of which operate at least one factory. The remainder of annual production is grown and processed by small, medium and large land estates. Most of the larger estates have their own washing stations.
Most Kenyan coffees are fully washed and dried on raised beds. The country still upholds its reputation for high quality and attention to detail at its many washing stations. The best factories employ stringent sorting practices at cherry intake, and many of them have had the same management staff in place for years.