Product Description

Kenya | Kamundu

Country: Kenya
Region: Kiambu County
Producer: Kamundu Estate
Elevation: 1830-2050m
Varietal: SL28/SL34
Process: Washed
Tasting Notes: Blackberry, Plum, Citrus, Brown Sugar

Situated within the cool Limuru zone, the Kamundu Estate is located in the Central Highlands of Kenya sharing a border with Nakuru and Kajiado to the West, Murang’a and Nyandarua to the North, and Nairobi to the South. The Estate was established in 1954 producing roughly 1,600 MT of cherries each year with both UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certifications.

Kiambu is famous for its coffee estates, which were started by British colonists in the early 20th century, now being run by local Kenyans after independence in the 1960s. The coffee is grown throughout the region on healthy deep red volcanic soils high in nutrients and organic matter. This soil is ideal for coffee production and give the trees the necessary resources to allocate energy to high-quality coffee production.

Harvest generally occurs between October and December. In some cases, early crop can be harvested between April and July.

The coffee trees are carefully monitored and picking ensues only when the cherry is at the ideal level of ripeness. Picking occurs in the morning and buckets of bright red coffee cherries are carried to the mill. As the sun traverses across the sky into the afternoon, the cherries are piled high as underripe cherries and foreign objects are removed from the gleaming pile. The cherries are then poured into a hopper located just above the pulping station.

From here, clean water is drawn upwards and directed into the hopper to cover the coffee cherries. This force pushes the cherries down a chute into the pulping house. Here, the outer pulp is removed thanks to the work of two rotating abrasive slabs. The de-pulped coffee is then moved via the force of a water channel towards a fermentation tank. Along the way, floaters, or lower quality coffee beans, are removed to ensure only the highest quality continue along the process. The denser beans are funnelled through a hole where they land into a fermentation tank to rest for the evening.

The following morning, workers assess the feel of the sticky mucilage remaining on the coffee. If it has reached the ideal level, water is placed over the beans to give them a final wash. From here, sluice gates open to move the coffee into washing channels where the coffee slides down a gently sloping tiled channel. Wooden shunts used by workers are manually placed into the coffee to separate the denser beans from the lighter beans.

The coffee is then evenly dispersed onto raised tables, under careful surveillance. If it is too sunny, or rain is in the forecast, the parchment is carefully covered. Moisture is regulated until the target of 10-12% is reached. The parchment is bagged up and transported to the dry mill.

After being hulled, the coffee rests and is soon filled into 60kg hermetically lined Jute export bags.