Karimikui
KENYA
Our coffee came from many smallholders in the Kirinyaga region and was processed at the Karimikui washing station of the Rungeto Farmers’ Cooperative. The lot, which perfectly represents the characteristic flavours of the Kirinyaga region, was made out of the coffee cherries of around 1,400 producers.
The Karimikui washing station is owned and run by the Rungeto Farmers Cooperative Society and is located near the town of Ngariama in Kirinyaga County. Kirinyaga lies in central Kenya, south of Mount Kenya, and along with the neighbouring Nyeri and Embu, it is the home of Kenya’s most complex coffees. Over 70% of the region’s coffee is produced by smallholders working on a few hectares, growing only around 250 coffee shrubs each. Around 1400 smallholders submit their crop to Karimikui during the harvest season, where the cherries are immediately sorted and separated according to various rules. The cherries are pulped mechanically the day before being fermented. Fermentation is followed by washing the cherries, after which they are dried in the sun for 9 to 13 days.