Kenya — Riakiberu Washing Station, SL28 & SL34 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Ripe Red Berries • 🍇 Blackcurrant • 🫐 Blackberry

DETAILS

• Producer: Riakiberu Coffee Factory, Kamacharia Farmers Cooperative Society
• Farm: Riakiberu Washing Station
• Region: Murang'a County, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28, SL34
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,100 MASL
• Harvest: March 2026
• Size: 200g

INTRO

Riakiberu Coffee Factory, part of the Kamacharia Farmers Cooperative Society in Murang'a County, Kenya, sits at high altitude on red volcanic soils that support quality-focused, carefully managed coffee production.

This lot is composed of SL28 and SL34 — the classic Kenyan workhorse varieties known for their structured acidity and vibrant dark-fruit character. Processed as a traditional washed coffee, the cherries are pulped, fermented for 12–24 hours depending on temperature, then dried slowly on raised beds for 10 to 22 days to enhance balance and complexity.

THE PRODUCER

Riakiberu Washing Station operates as part of the Kamacharia Farmers Cooperative Society, a smallholder collective serving farmers across Murang'a County in central Kenya. The factory sits at 2,100 MASL on the deep red volcanic soils that have made this region one of Africa's most celebrated coffee-growing zones.

Smallholder farmers across the cooperative deliver ripe cherry to Riakiberu, where carefully managed washing protocols and slow raised-bed drying combine to produce coffees with the structured acidity, layered fruit complexity and clean finish that defines the Kenyan style at its best.

POMA's collaboration at Riakiberu brings together scientific research and practical farming, focusing on improving agricultural practices and refining processing methods to elevate cup quality whilst supporting sustainable production for the cooperative's farmers.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Riakiberu involves:

• 🍒 Cherry Delivery & Sorting — Smallholder farmers across the Kamacharia cooperative deliver ripe cherry to the washing station, where it is sorted to isolate only the densest, ripest fruit.
• 🔧 Disc Pulping — Cherries are mechanically depulped to remove the outer skin, separating the parchment-covered beans from the fruit.
• 🧪 Underwater Fermentation — Beans ferment in clean water for 12–24 hours, with duration carefully adjusted to ambient temperature to ensure controlled, even mucilage breakdown.
• 💧 Thorough Washing — After fermentation, beans are thoroughly washed and graded by density in channels — the classic Kenyan double-wash protocol that delivers exceptional clarity in the cup.
• ☀️ Slow Bed Drying — Beans dry on raised African beds for 10 to 22 days, frequently turned and covered during peak heat to ensure slow, even moisture loss.
• 🌡️ High-Altitude Climate — At 2,100 MASL, cool temperatures and intense sunlight slow drying naturally, allowing flavour and structure to fully develop.

The result is a textbook Kenyan washed cup — vibrant, structured and unmistakably alive with ripe dark-fruit character.

THE CUP

Expect a juicy cup with ripe red-berry aromas — blackcurrant and blackberry leading — lifted by a vibrant, mouthwatering acidity that defines the Kenyan SL28/SL34 profile. The traditional washed protocol delivers exceptional clarity, allowing the dark-fruit intensity of the varieties to take centre stage without distraction.

A classic high-altitude Kenyan coffee, refined through POMA's research-led approach to processing and cooperative collaboration.

Flavour Notes

• 🫐 Ripe Red Berries
• 🍇 Blackcurrant
• 🫐 Blackberry