Kenya Kamwangi

Specialty Coffee of Single Origin

Notes: Blueberry, blackcurrant and red cherry

Variety: Arabica SL28

Process: Washed

Picking method: Hand Picked

Processing method: Washed

Drying method: Raised Bed Dried

Elevation: 1800 MASL

Region: Kamwangi

Crop period: 2022

Grower: Kamwangi Cooperative

Suitable for: 

The Kamwangi cooperative in Kirinyaga is a top quality producing wet mills in Kenya. This year’s crop presents dense blueberry, blackcurrant and red cherry flavors, aunique combination and among the top Kenya AA coffee.

The washing process in Kenya has a number of steps:  First, the cherries are sorted, removing under-ripe/overripe cherries. Then the coffee is depulped by squeezing the cherry through a screen and removing the fruit and skin from the bean. Next, the coffee is left to ferment in white ceramic tiled tanks for 24 hours. Subsequently, the coffee is stirred for a short amount of time and left to ferment for another 24 hours. After two days of dry fermentation, the coffee is washed with fresh water, removing the sticky mucilage attached to the beansvloosened by bacteria during the fermentation process. It is then soaked in water to ferment overnight. The coffee goes through sorting and density channels separating the lots and taken to raised beds to dry. Once the coffee reaches 11.5-12% moisture content, the it is brought to conditioning bins to rest until it goes to the dry mill. 

Once a coffee has been processed, dried and milled, it goes to a sorter that separates the beans by size. Coffee goes into a vibrating machine sending beans through different screens with different-sized holes to sort the coffee based on size and density. This results in a more uniform coffee and cup profile.  

The coffees are auctioned based on the grade (size & density) they have.

AA (screen size 17 & 18)
The largest and most celebrated grade of Kenyan coffee commanding the highest price on the auction.  AA is the most common grade we buy (although last year we carried the Peaberry – see below)

AB (screen size 15 & 16)
This grade represents about 30% of Kenya coffee production. While AB is usually considered lower quality than AA, sometimes the cup tends to be of a higher taste.  Over the years, we have consistently found excellent AB’s that actually cup better than their more prestigious AA.  This confirms our conviction to cup AB’s as we often get pleasant surprises

PB (Peaberry)
Peaberries represent about 10% of Kenya coffee production. The cherry produces one combined bean instead of two seperate beans.  We notice a slight better fermentation tasting notes with a heavier body, winey or syrupy than other grade.

OTHER SIZES
E (large Peaberries & large chipped beans)
C (screen size 14 & 15)
TT (falls through 14)
T (small or broken pieces of beans