Kayu AB

Kayu Coffee Factory was established in 1964 and rests on a 7-acre piece of land. It's located near the town of Kangema in Murang'a County and is one of the oldest washing stations in the area serving Kayu, Njumbi, Rwatha, and Mihuti villages. Currently it is owned and operated by the Kiriti Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS). 

Like most coffees in Kenya, the coffee delivered to Kayu is fermented and washed before drying. Water is pumped from the nearby Kagondo river into reservoir tanks for de-pulping, then the pulped coffee is placed in large tanks with water to soak and ferment overnight. The next day, the coffee is washed again to remove the mucilage, and spread on drying tables in open sun where it is frequently turned until the target moisture content is reached. The wastewater used for processing is carefully placed into soak pits to seep back into the soil without polluting the local drinking source.

Another common quality of Kenyan coffee lies in their dedication to separating each delivery by screen size - this is indicated by either an AA, AB or PB notation on the lot ID. You can see this written on the front of a bag of most Kenyan coffees. Here we have an AB lot, indicating that the seeds have been separated between a 15-16 size screen.

Kenyan coffees are sweeter than most origins - they stand out on a table and taste of sweet red berries to many. AB sizes will commonly show more dried-fruit sweetness compared to their AA counterparts (known for fresher fruit flavors). The grounds give us the herbaceous aroma of dried tomato which translates to a winey, merlot grape in the cup. Acidity is crisp but non-invasive and there is a lovely caramel/brown sugar note that ties everything together.

Expect this to be a coffee that opens up over time and provides much more clarity at 2-3 weeks from its roasting date. Here we expect to taste much more blackcurrant and sweet apple.

We will be roasting this for about 8-10 weeks until mid fall when we expect to run out for the season!

Co-operative → Kiriti FCS
Washing Station → Kayu
Location → Kangema, Murang’a County, Kenya
Altitude → 1,650 masl
Variety → SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11
Process → Washed