Kenya Kii AB

This coffee comes from the Kii factory in the Kirinyaga region of Central Kenya. Kii is operated by Rungeto Farmers Cooperative Society, or F.C.S., and has about 1,215 active members. Farmers began planting coffee in this region in 1953, and today the average farmer has about 400 coffee plants growing on ⅓ of a hectare. This cooperative partnered with Sustainable Management Services Limited, a marketing agent that is implementing a coffee quality improvement project together, in hopes of raising the yield and cup quality.

Kirinyaga is home to Mt. Kenya and has a wealth of forests and exotic wildlife. The soil is rich and volcanic, with many rivers running through the region and a reliable 50 inches of rain per year. This geography gives farmers the resources to produce some of Kenya’s most fruit-forward coffees. With washed process coffees, the cherries are picked ripe, delivered to the factory, and depulped all in the same day. The coffee is fermented overnight, an important process in sugar and flavor development, and then washed with fresh river water and laid out to dry in full sun.