Kenya Kiamugumo

Origin: Kenya

Region: Kirinyaga

Community: Ngariama

Process: Washed

Producer/Farm: Various Smallholder Producers

Washing Station: Kiamugumo Washing Station

Varietals: SL28, Batian, and Ruiru 11

Elevation: 1600+ MASL

Roast Level: Light

Tasting Profile: Tropical Fruits, Passionfruit, Coconut Cream, Juicy, Sweet and Complex

Additional Information:

After much anticipation, we are super excited to be adding a Kenyan coffee back onto our list of offerings. This is an absolutely stellar coffee you won’t want to miss out on trying, one that we have eagerly been looking forward to landing in after we sampled it earlier in the year. Kenyan coffees are typically our most favorite coffees coming out of Africa, and Africa has an abundance of amazing coffee producing countries.

We historically seek out Kenyan coffee lots with undeniable Kenyan coffee characteristics. This can probably most be credited to the iconic and legendary coffee varietals that are predominately grown here such as SL28, SL34, Batian and Ruiru 11.

These coffee varietals are often bursting with vibrant fruit acidity and have the perfect complimentary sweetness and structure which makes them exceptional in our opinions. In the cup on this lot specifically, we are getting punchy tropical fruits, passionfruit, coconut cream, with a ton of juiciness and complexity. This coffee has everything we look for when seeking out Kenyan coffees and can create excellent results no matter what brew style you throw it through.

About the Coffee:

Kiamugumo factory is situated in the community of Ngariama in the Nyangeni subregion of Kirinyaga County, on the slopes of Mount Kenya. It is located in the buffer zone surrounding Mount Kenya National Park. Mount Kenya is an extinct volcano and the second highest snow-capped peak in Africa (5,199 masl), after Kilimanjaro.

The presence of this snowy mountain in Kirinyaga plays a fundamental role for the population and coffee of the surrounding areas. As its glaciers feed the Kii river, which plays an important role in the processing of the coffee at the Kiamugumo washing station.

After harvesting, smallholder producers bring the ripe cherries to the factory in horses or motorcycles. The cherries are washed and depulped with water from the Kii River. After washing, the coffee is dried on typical African raised beds. Beans are then dried until they reach between 11-13% moisture before they are then graded and further sorted.

The main economic pillar in Ngariama is coffee. Other common crops grown are banana and maize. Grevillea, macadamia, and false banana trees are also planted to provide shade to the coffee trees. Farms in this region are surrounded by forests of native trees where wild animals such as elephants and buffalos live. Local coffee producers use fences strategically along their farm perimeters to protect their crops and minimize contact with potentially dangerous fauna. The Kenyan government has prohibited logging and hunting in the area and producers are very respectful of these rules.

The farms here are mostly very small (1-2 hectares) and adults work the farms while children attend school all day. Schools there cost money, which unfortunately limits access to education and future opportunities in this mostly-poor area. Due to lack of opportunity, much of the young population is migrating en masse to cities in search of better jobs, leaving their parents alone on the farms or even taking their parents and abandoning their farms, a growing problem from year to year.