Karimikui AA - Kenya

The Karimikui factory is located at a high altitude in an area where tea is more commonly grown than coffee. It is a member of the Rungeto FCS, a cooperative that is known for producing some of the highest-performing coffees in Kenya. Hundreds of smallholders deliver ripe cherries to this station every year where the factory team manually sorts them before production. Selected cherries are de-pulped and graded before the coffees undergo a period of dry fermentation in tanks. After fermentation, the coffees are washed in clean channels. A period of soaking (second wash) occurs shortly after to ensure the development of flavours can reach their full potential. In the final stage, the coffees are placed on raised beds to dry where they get covered with plastic throughout the hottest part of the day and overnight. Workers periodically rotate the coffees at this stage to ensure the coffees dry evenly. The final cup is incredibly sweet, intense, and reminiscent of black currant and sweet citrus. It is the nutrient-dense soil in this area paired with the immaculate processing method used at this factory that makes this coffee consistently high-performing year after year.