This special lot of meticulously sorted peaberries consists of prized
coffee seeds that grew with just one, rather than two seeds in each
coffee cherry. They pack a ton of flavor, especially after they are carefully
dried on raised screens for up to 3 weeks. The long dry time ensures
consistent flavor and full maturation of deep, sophisticated notes
redolent of cranberry, fig and cola nut.
The quality shows
in the cup and contributes to the well-earned reputation of the Nyeri
region as the heart of Kenya's black gold coffee.
Thageini is part of Aguthi Farmers' Cooperative Society from Nyeri County, this factory is composed of 465 producers who collectively harvest a total of 205 Hectares.
The harvest goes from October to December, at Thageini Factory the coffee is processed following the wet process method, where the fully ripe cherries are pulped, fermented and washed to finally be dried in African beds slowly for 2 to 3 weeks. The quality is also evident in the cup.
Region: Nyeri County
Elevation: 1600-1700
Process: Washed
Farmer: Thageini Cooperative
Varietal: SL28, SL34
We Taste: Cranberry, Fig, Cola nut
Roast Level: Light (Agtron: 72)
We visited both the Rukira washing station (“factory”) and
the Othaya Society’s Dry Mill and Cupping lab, hosted throughout by Newton
Ndiritu one of the brightest coffee personalities in Kenya. Newton is both the
factory chairman at the Rukira factory with approximately 560 members and the
chairman of the entire Othaya Society (which comprises about 15,000 farmer
members across several other factories).
Newton has raised the bar for his fellow member farmers at
Rukira in a few ways. By using best-practice pruning methods and appropriate
amounts of fertilizers he’s been able to increase the yield from around 5kg per
tree to around 23 kg per tree, thereby showing a way to make farming coffee
sustainable in the long-term. He’s smoothed the path for construction of the
Othaya society’s own dry mill, which has helped control the quality all the way
to our roastery. The dry mill also includes a state-of-the-art cupping lab, the
best cupping lab our coffee buying team has seen at any society or factory. By
controlling the process and continuously cupping the coffee, Rukira (and some
other factories at Othaya) consistently turn out some of Kenya’s best coffees.
The Rukira AA placed third in the Taste of Harvest competition this year, and
we think you’ll enjoy it tremendously!