- Kenya
- April - July
Kenya AA Kangunu FCS 2023
Kenyan Coffee | Kangunu Farmers’ Cooperative Society
Kangunu Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS) and Coffee Factory (wet mill) is based in Murang’a County, an area famous for being the origin of the Mau Mau uprising in the mid-20th century. The Kangunu FCS established the Kangunu factory in 1998. An elected board manages the cooperative and the Secretary Manager oversees the group’s day-to-day activities with the help of a permanent staff.
Murang’a County enjoys cool temperatures of 16-26ºC and around 1,200mm of rainfall per year. The rich volcanic soil is perfect for growing coffee. In particular, farmers here grow SL-34, SL-28, and small amounts of Ruiru-11.
Kenyan Green Coffee Quality
Green coffee from Kenya is graded by screen size, not necessarily by cup quality or defect count. The grades range from E (Elephant Bean), PB (peaberry), AA, AB, C, and other subsequent lower grades. This AA screen size coffee comprises large, dense green coffee beans at screen size 17/18.
Washed Process Coffee in Kenya
The coffee was primarily grown by smallholders who handpicked ripe cherries in the morning and delivered them to the Kangunu factory (wet mill). The coffee cherries were subsequently disc pulped between two rotating abrasive slabs with the help of clean water, then fully fermented overnight.
The wet mill manager inspected the fermented beans for optimal textures of broken-down fruit mucilage and parchment coating before they were thoroughly washed. After pouring the washed beans down a sloped tiled channel, the beans were pushed repeatedly by wooden shunts back to the top to separate lighter and heavier beans. This ensured that only the heavier, denser, higher-quality beans made it into this micro-lot.
Finally, this washed Kenyan coffee was sundried on raised beds. Consolidated parchment volumes were then delivered to dry mills where the parchment was hulled, graded according to size and density, warehoused, and warranted for sale via the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
Kenyan Coffee Beans
Although Kenya and Ethiopia share a border, their coffee histories have little in common. French missionaries introduced coffee to Kenya in 1893. Coffee production expanded mainly on large estates. Green coffee from Kenya could only be traded through the national auction until 2006 when new legislation made it possible for producers to sell directly to buyers.
Kenyan coffee production has upheld quality and consistency throughout the years with detail-oriented management at the washing stations. Over 600,000 smallholder farmers nationwide are organized into Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS) that oversee traceability and quality control for its membership body.
Kenya green coffee beans are celebrated for their bold, fruit-forward flavors that pack a punch in complex acidity. SL-28 and SL-34 are two of the most well-known coffee varieties grown in Kenya. The signature varietals were developed by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (hence, SL) in the 1930s for drought resistance, exceptional cup quality, and large yield at high altitudes. After a coffee berry disease (CBD) epidemic in 1968, the CBD-resistant Ruiru-11 coffee variety was developed and quickly adopted throughout the country.
GEOGRAPHY:
Region Murang'a County
Altitude 1600-1800
PRODUCER:
Kangunu FCS, Kangunu factory
VARIETY:
SL34, SL28, Ruiri 11
PROCESSING:
Washed
HARVEST TIME:
April - July