Karimikui AA

Kenya — Karimikui Factory Rung'eto Cooperative SL28, SL34 & Ruiru 11 (Fully Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍒 Cherry • 🍁 Maple Syrup • 🍅 Tomato

DETAILS

• Producer: 2,500+ Smallholder Farmers — Rung'eto Farmer Cooperative Society
• Station: Karimikui Factory
• Region: Kirinyaga County, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28, SL34 & Ruiru 11
• Process: Fully Washed (AA Grade)
• Altitude: 1,600–1,700 MASL
• Size: 250g

INTRO

From the Karimikui Factory on the fertile slopes of Mount Kenya — a fully washed AA-grade lot from one of Kirinyaga County's most meticulous and well-organised cooperative washing stations. Bright, clean, and complex, with the vibrant acidity and refined sweetness that have made Kenyan coffee so celebrated worldwide. In the cup: cherry, maple syrup, and a distinctive savoury tomato note.

THE PRODUCER

The Karimikui Coffee Project brings together over 2,500 smallholder farmers organised under the Rung'eto Farmer Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga County — a region on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya renowned for its rich volcanic soils, consistent rainfall, and ideal altitude for growing Kenya's celebrated SL varieties. Farmers cultivate SL28 and SL34 alongside the disease-resistant Ruiru 11, combining tradition with practicality to maintain both quality and yield across the cooperative's member plots.

SL28 and SL34, selected by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s, are the backbone of Kenya's specialty identity — responsible for the bold blackcurrant acidity, full body, and complex fruit character that define the country's finest lots. Ruiru 11, developed by the Coffee Research Institute of Kenya in 1980 for its resistance to Coffee Berry Disease and Leaf Rust, contributes additional structure and sweetness to the blend.

THE PROCESS

The Fully Washed process at Karimikui Factory involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Only fully ripe cherries selectively harvested and delivered to the factory on the same day 🔍 Sorting & flotation — Strict sorting and flotation at intake to ensure only the highest quality fruit proceeds 🔧 Pulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented for 12–24 hours to break down mucilage and enhance clarity 💧 Washing & soaking — Thoroughly washed with clean water then soaked for a further 24 hours ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds for 7–14 days, regularly turned and carefully covered during peak sun and overnight for slow, even drying

The 24-hour post-wash soaking is the defining step — a classic feature of the Kenyan washed process that produces the exceptional brightness, clarity, and clean citric acidity that distinguish Kenyan fully washed lots from those of other origins, while the meticulous covered raised-bed drying locks in the complex flavour expression that earns this lot its AA classification.

THE CUP

A bright, clean, and beautifully complex fully washed Kenyan AA from one of Kirinyaga's most carefully managed cooperative factories — vivid cherry acidity, warm maple syrup sweetness, and a distinctive savoury tomato note that is the hallmark of great Kenyan washed coffee. Equally rewarding as a filter or an espresso.

Flavour Notes

🍒 Cherry 🍁 Maple Syrup 🍅 Tomato