CUPPING NOTES: Cherry, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Caramel
Bright Acidity, Smooth Finish
Grower: 300 smallholder farmers organized around Ena Coffee Factory
ALTITUDE: 1,600-1,800 MASL
REGION: Embu County, Kenya
Soil: Volcanic Loam
PROCESS: Fully Washed and Dried on Raised Beds
Varietals: SL28, & SL34, and Ruiru 11
Harvest: April-July | October-December
Certification: Conventional
Details: New Runyenjes FCS and Processing Style
Kenya’s coffee is dominated by a cooperative system of production, whose members vote on representation, marketing and milling contracts for their coffee, as well as profit allocation. New Runyenjes Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) is an umbrella organization that represents 3 total factories (centralized wet mills), including Kangundu, Nduuri, and Ena.
Ena's farmer members grow corn, beans, and tea as well as coffee. Part of New Runyenjes FCS’ management is consulting on the ideal management of diverse farms, including sustainable farming trainings and literature. The society also pre-finances their members for pre-harvest inputs and harvesting labor, as well as family school fees.
At the factory, Ena collects cherry from members daily throughout the harvest months. The cherry is sorted on arrival for ripeness and consistency and then blended together for processing: coffee is depulped with a disc pulper (large, impressive multi-channel machines originally manufactured in India), is fermented overnight, washed in fresh water and moved to raised screen tables to dry, a process that takes 2-3 weeks depending on local climate and ambient temperatures.
After drying is complete the coffee is conditioned in large perforated bins on site to allow moisture to stabilize, preparing the coffees for transit and a long shelf life. The established milling and sorting by grade, or bean size, is a longstanding tradition and positions Kenya coffees well for roasters, by tightly controlling the physical preparation and creating a diversity of profiles from a single processing batch.
