About This Coffee
Located in the Embu County on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, Kianyangi factory receives freshly picked cherries from an approximate 950 smallholder farmers in the region for processing. The factory is managed by Murue Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS), which owns other wet mills such as Kavutiri, Ngurueri and Gituara.
Carefully cultivated and processed, this Fully washed AB lot offers a juicy body and a rich flavor profile, characterized by berry notes and comforting dark chocolate undertones.
Cultivation
Farmers contributing to this lot cultivate SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 and Batian on small plots, situated between 1,750 meters above sea level. The ‘SL’ varieties are cultivars originally released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the go-to trees for many growers in Kenya due to their deep root structure, which allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation. They are cultivated with a serious eye to sustainability and Good Agricultural Practices, with minimal environmental impact where possible.
Batian is a relatively new variety introduced by the Kenya Coffee Research Institute (CRI) in 2010. Batian is named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya and is resistant to both CBD and CLR. The variety has the added benefit of early maturity, cropping after only two years. Similar to Batian, Ruiru 11 is a new variety known for its disease resistance and high yields. It also starts yielding fruit after just 2 years.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherries are carefully hand-picked before being delivered to Kianyangi factory. At intake, the cherries are carefully sorted to ensure optimal quality. Selected cherries are then pulped and fermented for 12 to 24 hours, depending on the weather. Once fermentation is completed, the parchment is then washed before soaking in water for an additional 24 hours.
This step of soaking was once very particular to Kenya coffee production, though in more recent years it’s become used in other specialty productions. Coffee is held under water, preserving its quality and limiting exposure to adulterants, while it awaits space on drying tables (historically during the peak harvest season). Recent research has shown that the step also has added benefit to the coffee’s final quality and longevity, adding clarity to the cup.
After soaking, parchment is delivered to dry on raised beds, where it will be laid in thin layer and turned regularly to ensure even drying. The parchment is covered with tarps during the hottest hours of the day to protect it from direct sunlight and again at night to shield it from moisture. Depending on the weather, drying typically takes 15 to 21 days.
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 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
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.
AB Grade
Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AB beans are those that are between screen size 15 and 18 meaning that beans are between 6 and 7 millimeters in size.
About Embu
Embu County lies just to the east of Mouth Kenya, with a good portion of land reaching into the foothills. Soil and climate in the region are ideal for farming coffee. Some of the country’s earliest factories (wet mills) were established here, and today some of Kenya’s best coffees come from this beautiful region.
Today, farmers across the region (like many in Kenya) face the dual challenges of low productivity combined with land fragmentation (smaller plot sizes). This makes the agronomic and technical support from our team at Sucafina in Kenya (Kenyacof) all the more important.
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.