Mirra Coffee - Karimikui PB Washed | Kenya

Kenya — Karimikui Wet Mill, Rungeto Cooperative SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian (Peaberry, Washed)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Boysenberry • 🍐 Quince Preserves • 🌸 Peach Blossom

DETAILS

• Producer: Rungeto Cooperative Society (2,600 producers)
• Wet Mill: Karimikui
• Region: Githure, Kirinyaga, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian
• Process: Washed (wet mill), Peaberry Separation
• Altitude: 1,800 masl

INTRO
Mirra is ringing in the return of Kenya to the menu with two lots from the Karimikui wet mill, this one the peaberry separation. Dark, syrupy boysenberry leads, with sweet quince preserves and a light dusting of peach blossom on top. In the cup: boysenberry, quince preserves, and peach blossom.

THE PRODUCER
The Karimikui wet mill sits at 1,800 masl on the southern foothills of Mt. Kenya, about 9 km north of the regional hub of Embu. It's a member of the Rungeto Cooperative Society, which has yielded many of the best Kenyan lots over the previous five years and is made up of 2,600 contributing producers. The mill draws fresh water from the Nyamindi River for processing, and most producers plant grevillea robusta and macadamia trees to shade their coffee.

This offering combines the four most common Kenyan varieties. SL28, a Bourbon-group cultivar released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in 1935, is perhaps the most lauded African cultivar for quality and drought resistance. SL34, of the Typica genetic group, was selected from a single tree on the Loresho Estate in Kabete and prized for quality and coffee berry disease resistance. Ruiru 11 is a composite variety with Catimor as its female parent, released in 1985 in response to the 1968 coffee berry disease epidemic that halved Kenya's production that year. Batian, created at the Ruiru research station in 2010 from several varieties including SL28, SL34, Sudan Rume, K7, SL4, and Timor Hybrid, is known for leaf rust resistance and quality potential at altitude.

THE PROCESS
This lot is processed at the Karimikui wet mill and separated by bean type to isolate the peaberry, the naturally occurring single, rounded seed. That separation, rather than a different variety or processing method, is what sets this lot apart from the AA.

The peaberry separation is the defining step. Its dense single-seed structure is what concentrates the dark, syrupy boysenberry and quince character behind this cup.

THE CUP
Dark, syrupy, and sweet: boysenberry leads, with sweet quince preserves through the middle and a light dusting of peach blossom on top.

Flavour Notes
🫐 Boysenberry 🍐 Quince Preserves 🌸 Peach Blossom