Kenya — Ruera Factory Batian, SL28, SL34 & Ruiru 11 AB (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍵 Black Tea • 🫐 Red Currant • 🌺 Hibiscus

DETAILS

• Producer: Producing Members — Ruera Factory
• Region: Kiambu County, Ruiru, Kenya
• Varietal: Batian, SL28, SL34 & Ruiru 11 (AB Grade)
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,740 MASL
• Roast: Filter
• Size: 250g

INTRO

Swerl's first Kenyan of the season — and it is tasting absolutely delicious. Ruera Factory in Kiambu, a 190-hectare estate just outside Ruiru in central Kenya, built on rich red volcanic soils and defined by careful, quality-focused processing at every stage. Vibrant, syrupy, and deeply satisfying. In the cup: black tea, red currant, and hibiscus.

THE PRODUCER

Ruera Factory is located in Kiambu County just outside the town of Ruiru — a substantial estate covering more than 190 hectares of coffee cultivation at 1,740 MASL. Two distinct rainy seasons each year, rich red volcanic soils, and the stable growing conditions of central Kenya's highland plateau combine to create an ideal environment for the classic, vibrant Kenyan cup profile that Ruera has built its reputation on.

Beyond coffee quality, Ruera Factory is a significant employer and community institution — providing work for hundreds of people throughout the harvest season, supporting more than 1,000 livelihoods across the coffee production chain, and offering housing, childcare, education, and healthcare to resident workers and their families. This long-term investment in both quality and community reflects the kind of integrated approach that makes Ruera a genuinely respected address in Kenyan specialty coffee.

SL28 and SL34, developed by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s, form the backbone of Kenya's specialty identity — responsible for the bold berry acidity, full body, and complex fruit character that define the country's finest lots. Batian, developed by the Coffee Research Institute of Kenya in 2010 for disease resistance, contributes additional sweetness and structure, while Ruiru 11 rounds out the blend with further depth and consistency.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Ruera Factory involves:

🍒 Selective hand-picking — Cherries hand-picked and carefully sorted before processing at the wet mill 🔧 Pulping — Outer skin removed shortly after harvest 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented with close attention to every stage to preserve quality and clarity 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation to remove all residue ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds using natural heat until moisture content reaches a stable 10–11%

The meticulous fermentation and washing management is the defining step — by paying close attention to every stage of fermentation and washing, Ruera preserves the vibrant fruit character, structured acidity, and syrupy body that define this lot, while the raised-bed natural drying ensures consistency and longevity across the finished lot.

THE CUP

A vibrant, syrupy, and deeply satisfying washed Kenyan AB from one of Kiambu's most respected and community-rooted factory estates — red currant brightness, black tea elegance, and a hibiscus florality in a structured, well-defined cup that delivers everything great Kenyan coffee promises. Delicious.

Flavour Notes

🍵 Black Tea 🫐 Red Currant 🌺 Hibiscus