Kenya AB Kabingara *TOP LOT*

This is a washed AB lot from Kabingara wetmill, Kirinyaga county, in Kenya's central highlands.

THE PRODUCERS

Kabingara wetmill (or factory) was established in 1988 and currently had 500 members. It is one of two factories operated by Karithathi Farmer Co-operative Society headquartered in Kirinyaga town. Kabingara - managed by David Nyaga - is situated at 1,500masl and serves smallholder farmers in the local villages of Kamwana, Gatumbi, Kithama and Kathaka. The farmers typically have a small amount of land and cultivate the varieties of SL34, Ruiru 11 and Batian. As part of their membership, the co-operative provides training, credit & financial services, and inputs such as fertilizer to increase yield and plant health.

THE PROCESS

The coffee is wet processed, whereby fully ripe cherries are:

• - Pulped
• - Fermented in water for 12 - 48 hours (depending on climatic conditions)
• - Washed and graded in clean water channels
• - Dried slowly over 2 - 3 weeks on raised African beds until the moisture content is reduced to 10-12%.

The coffee is then taken to a central dry mill where it is rested in parchment for 3 weeks before being hulled, cleaned and graded by bean size. Finally, the coffee is carefully handpicked before being bagged in GrainPro for export from Mombasa.

THE REGION

Kirinyaga county is located in Kenya's central highlands. Directly south of Mount Kenya - the second highest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro - the county's farmers utilise the abundant altitude and rich volcanic soils of the mountain's foothills to produce coffees characterised by their high quality, complexity and sweetness. Most farmers in the region are actually tea growers, but the climate and terroir is ideal for arabica cultivation.