Kenya — Kamwangi SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍒 Cranberry • 🍇 Raspberry • 🌹 Rose Hips

DETAILS

• Producer: New Ngariama Farmers Cooperative Society
• Factory: Kamwangi
• Region: Kirinyaga County, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,800 masl
• Harvest: December 2025
• FOB Price: $11.16/kg | DDP: $15.83/kg

INTRO A years-long relationship with the Kamwangi site, which continues to produce some of the highest-quality coffees in all of Kenya. Cranberry and raspberry lead, with a rose hips finish. In the cup: cranberry, raspberry, and rose hips.

THE PRODUCER Kamwangi is one of two factories run by the New Ngariama Farmers Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga, located in the northeast corner of the county on the southern slope of Mt. Kenya. Most producers here deliver SL28 and SL34, with a small proportion of Ruiru 11 and Batian, as is typical of Kenyan cooperative coffees.

SL28 and SL34 trace to single-tree selections made by Scott Agricultural Laboratories between 1935-1939 — SL34 with a Typica-like genetic background from a single tree on the Loresho Estate in Kabete, and SL28 from the Bourbon genetic group, selected for drought resistance and exceptionally high cup quality, later spreading well beyond Kenya. Ruiru 11 emerged from a coffee berry disease epidemic that destroyed 50% of Kenya's production in 1968, developed through an intensive breeding programme at the Ruiru research station and released in 1985. Batian, resistant to both leaf rust and coffee berry disease, is a composite variety created from fifth-generation single-tree selections of Ruiru 11 progeny, combining SL28, SL34, Rume Sudan, N39, K7, SL4, and the Timor Hybrid.

THE PROCESS Cherries are hand-picked at peak ripeness, hand-sorted for ripeness and uniformity, then floated to further remove defects and de-pulped the same day. The coffee dry-ferments for 24–36 hours under shade, is washed and graded by density in washing channels, then dries on raised beds until moisture reaches 10%.

The shaded 24–36 hour dry fermentation is the defining step — it's what builds the clean, tart cranberry and raspberry character that define this cup, while density grading ensures consistency across the lot.

THE CUP Bright and tart — cranberry and raspberry up front, with a rose hips finish. A consistently excellent showing from one of Kirinyaga's most reliable factories.

Flavour Notes 🍒 Cranberry 🍇 Raspberry 🌹 Rose Hips