Mukuyuni AA

Vava Angwenyi is the founder of Vava Coffee Ltd, a vertically integrated exporter and social benefit company based out of Nairobi, Kenya. Vava uses her company to provide education and tools for producers to learn more about the products they have to sell in the marketplace, and she intentionally includes women and young people in all aspects of this work. 

Through Vava, we have gained access to the Machakos region, in Southeastern Kenya. We haven't seen much coffee from this part of Kenya in the past due to the limited access we have as foreigners. This single variety, SL28 lot comes from the Mukuyuni Farmer's Cooperative Society (FCS) which has 932 members and takes its name from the town in which its members live and grow coffee.

Just over 25 years ago, this group of farmers split off from a larger factory to form their own cooperative, and have since grown to become quite a progressive group.

Here are some words from Vava on the Mukuyuni FCS: 

“As an example, you can point to organic farming practices, FairTrade certification, 100% members being current with dues, active demonstration plots, full-time quality mobilizers, and regular mandatory training. Here you’ll find clean stores, clean fields, newly purchased digital scales, new electrical motors for pulping machines, a new lorry to facilitate collections for further farmers, a regular internal magazine on coffee production, and committees set to researching ongoing improvements. Their 10-person management board is consistently half or more female, despite women making up ~ 347 of the 932 total members.“

This coffee showed up a little later than we had hoped due to some unforeseen delays at origin. As a result, it has hit the menu just as our new Kenyan coffees approach the port but don't be fooled, it is still the big, sweet, and juicy cup you're looking for. Expect notes of toffee-apple, juicy red fruit and blackcurrant.

Cooperative → Mukuyuni Farmer's Cooperative Society
Washing Station → Mukuyuni
Location → Machakos County, Kenya
Altitude → 1,700 - 2,000 masl
Variety → SL28
Process → Washed