Kenya — Karundu Coffee Factory SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian (Washed, AA)

Tastes Like — 🥤 Cola • 🍐 Poached Pear • 🍇 Plum Jam • 🍵 Rooibos Tea

DETAILS

• Producer: Karundu Coffee Factory
• Farm: Rugi Farmers Co-operative Society
• Region: Nyeri County, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian
• Process: Washed (AA)
• Altitude: 1,650 masl

INTRO A washed AA from the Karundu Coffee Factory in Nyeri — the kind of "pear pressure" you'll be happy to give in to. Lively cola sweetness opens the cup, before soft poached pear takes over. Rich plum jam brings the depth, and a delicate rooibos tea finish keeps it refined from first sip to last. In the cup: cola, poached pear, plum jam, and rooibos tea.

THE PRODUCER Established in the 1960s, Karundu Coffee Factory is a wet mill operated by the Rugi Farmers Co-operative Society in Nyeri County, sitting between the foothills of the Aberdare range and Mount Kenya at around 1,650 metres. It works with roughly 700 smallholder farmers, most tending small plots of about 0.3 acres with around 100 coffee trees each.

THE PROCESS Ripe cherries are pulped with water from the Sagana River, rested overnight, then washed, soaked, and dried slowly on raised tables, with the parchment turned frequently to preserve clarity and complexity.

The overnight rest before washing is the defining detail here — combined with the slow raised-table drying, it's what preserves the coffee's remarkable clarity, letting the cola, pear, and plum jam character shine through cleanly.

THE CUP Bright and juicy — cola-like sweetness opens the cup, soft poached pear develops through the middle, and rich plum jam brings a deep, fruit-forward core. Delicate rooibos tea carries a refined, lingering finish — classic Kenyan clarity with remarkable sweetness and balance.

Flavour Notes 🥤 Cola 🍐 Poached Pear 🍇 Plum Jam 🍵 Rooibos Tea