Kamwangi AA from Kirinyaga, Kenya
US$0.00
last few bags!
Roasted July 24th
Producers: smallholders organized around Kamwangi washing station
Where: Kirinyaga, Kenya
Varieties: SL28, Ruiru 11, Batian
Processing: Washed
Importer: Red Fox
Harvest: Dec-Jan 2023/24
Tasting notes: sweet tea, mango, blackcurrant
Depulped and fermented for 24-36hrs. before washing & dried on raised beds, this AA separation represents the deliveries of members of the Ngariama community, who deliver ripe fruit to Kamwangi washing station to be processed.
With honeyed soft blackcurrant sweetness and mango black tea complexity, this lot is comprised of SL28, Ruiru11, and Batian varieties grown and processed by folks organized around the Kamwangi washing station in Kirinyaga.
More
Kamwangi coffee washing station is located in the northeastern corner of Kirinyaga County, Nyangeni subregion, and serves the Ngariama community who grow coffee on 1-2 hectare plots alongside maize, banana, false banana and macadamia. It was established in 1983 and grows SL28, SL34 varieties with small amounts of Batian and Ruiru 11.
The coffee cherries are hand-sorted for unripe and overripe before they go into processing. The pulp is removed and the coffee is fermented for 24-36 hours in fermentation tanks under shade if it’s hot. After fermentation, coffees are washed and graded by density in washing channels. The water used in this process comes from the Nyamindi river. The coffee is then sun-dried for 12 to 20 days on raised drying beds, again depending on climate.
Parchment is covered in mesh shading during midday and at night to even out the temperature extremes and allow for even drying.
The washing station itself is located in the buffer zone surrounding Mount Kenya National Park. Mount Kenya is also an extinct volcano and the second highest snow-capped peak in Africa (5,199 masl), after Kilimanjaro. The Ngariama area has a long chain of mountains that help provide a diversity of altitudes and terrain for coffee cultivation. The farms are about a 30 minute trail walk (1-2 km) from the washing station. The main economic pillar in Ngariama is coffee. Grevillea, macadamia, and false banana trees are also planted to provide shade to the coffee trees.
With herbal complexity, black tea, & soft blackberry sweetness, this is a nice snapshot of what’s going on in the world of coffee in Kirinyaga now.
