SL28, SL34, Batian, & Ruiru varieties, washed process
Roasted for filter brewing

Fresh peach and nectarine with a soft caramel sweetness

This coffee comes to us from the Kainamui washing station in Kirinyaga, Kenya.

Around 1,800 smallholder farmers – members of the New Ngariama Farmers Co-operative Society – grow this coffee in the red volcanic soil on the slopes of Mt. Kenya.

For the most part, this coffee is made up of traditional SL-28 and SL-34 varieties, though as with most Kenyan coffee production, there are increasing amounts of K-7, Ruiru 11, Batian, and other varieties being included. While the washing station is at 1,400 metres elevation, the farms are located between 1,500 to 1,900 metres in altitude, meaning slower ripening and denser, more complex coffee.

Processing is largely traditional for the region, with the cherries being pulped using a 3-disc pulper before being density graded in washing channels. The two higher grades are fermented and washed before being graded again and readied for up to 21 days of drying on raised beds. Once dried, and prior to export, the coffee is ‘dry milled’ where the papery layer protecting the coffee bean is removed. The beans are then graded by size, with AA being the largest, followed by AB, PB being the peaberry, and further on, which is where this particular lot is a little different. This year, we’ve chosen to buy the peaberry selection from Kainamui.

Peaberries are significantly smaller, rounded coffee beans — the result of a genetic mutation in which only one seed forms inside the cherry instead of the usual two. This means that there’s no other bean to press up against during ripening, causing the round, pea-like shape that gives the coffee its name.

This year’s selection from Kainamui is incredibly sweet, tasting of rich stone fruit and a soft, cooked sugar sweetness. A summery, playful acidity brings the cup to life.

This is the fourth consecutive year we’ve purchased from Kainamui, having done so through our import partner, Cafe Imports.