Kenya — Peter Mbature Kamavindi Estate Framagi Peaberry (Fully Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍃 Blackcurrant Leaf • 🫐 Blackberry • 🍎 Pomegranate • 🌿 Juniper Berries

DETAILS

• Producer: Peter Mbature
• Farm: Kamavindi Estate
• Region: Embu, Kenya
• Varietal: Peaberry (Field Blend)
• Process: Fully Washed
• Altitude: 1,680–1,750 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

The Framagi Peaberry from Kamavindi Estate is a vivid expression of the Kenya that coffee lovers most prize — bright, layered with citrus and red fruit, with a clarity and precision that only the fully washed process and meticulous farm management can produce. Peaberry lots, where a single oval bean forms instead of the usual pair inside the cherry, are naturally rare and prized for their concentrated, intense flavour profile. From Peter Mbature's estate on the south-east slopes of Mount Kenya, this lot exemplifies the extraordinary potential of the Embu region.

THE PRODUCER

Kamavindi Estate was founded in 1958 by the late John Njiru Mbature during British colonial rule, when native Kenyans were permitted to cultivate only 100 trees. Since those restrictions were lifted in 1961, the farm has expanded to encompass 10,000 trees across 20 hectares. Today it is managed by Peter Mbature — a third-generation farmer, Q Grader, and now a licensed exporter — alongside his mother Hellen Weveti and sister Gladwell Wanjira.

Under Peter's leadership, Kamavindi has become far more than a single estate: it is a training and quality hub for the surrounding farming community. In 2022, with support from Counter Culture Coffee's Seeds programme, Peter built a professional cupping lab and training centre on the estate, where neighbouring farmers learn about processing best practices and access direct specialty buyers. Peter also founded Kamavindi Coffee Lab, his own export company, connecting small quality-focused growers across Embu to international roasters. This model — farming, educating, and exporting — has made Kamavindi one of the most admired producer operations in Kenya.

THE PROCESS

The Fully Washed process at Kamavindi Estate involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Ripe cherries hand-picked at peak maturity
• ✅ Hand Sorting & Flotation — Defects removed; density sorting via water
• 🔧 Depulping — Cherries depulped on the day of harvest
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation — Fermented in parchment for 18–20 hours, covered from sunlight
• 💧 First Wash — Washed and turned in fresh water to remove mucilage
• 🧪 Second Dry Fermentation — Additional 24 hours of dry fermentation
• 💧 Final Wash & Channel Float — Final wash and density sort through channels
• ☀️ Drying — Dried on raised beds under shade nets to 16%, then finished to ~10.5%

This meticulous double-fermentation, double-wash protocol produces the exceptional clarity and vivid acidity for which Kamavindi lots have become celebrated internationally.

THE CUP

A striking and aromatic Kenyan peaberry with a distinctly savury-fruited edge. Blackcurrant leaf opens the cup with an herbaceous intensity, before blackberry and pomegranate bring vivid red fruit depth and juicy acidity. Juniper berries lend a dry, resinous finish that lingers long and keeps the profile feeling alive and complex from first sip to last.

Flavour Notes

• 🍃 Blackcurrant Leaf
• 🫐 Blackberry
• 🍎 Pomegranate
• 🌿 Juniper Berries