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Farm Info
Producer: Rungeto Cooperative
Region: Kerugoya, Kirinyaga County
Altitude: 1,650-1,800m above sea level
Varietals: SL 28, SL 34, Batian, Ruiru 11
Coffee first came to the Rungeto area in the 1950’s. As is true in all of life, growers experienced highs and lows including the rise of the giant Ngariama Cooperative and its eventual demise. In 1997, 1,150 members of the defunct Ngariama Co-op came together to form the Rungeto Cooperative Society, and soon re-opened Ngariama’s three factories (processing mills), Kii (built in 1965), Karimikui (1968), and Kiangoi (1995). Member growers bring their coffees to the mills for fresh water processing courtesy of the Kii River.
The society is located in Kirinyaga County, Gichugu Constituency. Rungeto Co-op is governed by seven board members, two of whom are elected from each mill plus one women representative ona rotational basis. Thanks to the excellent work of the member growers and governing board . Today it has approximately 7,800 members who farm rich, loamy clay soil between 1,600 and 1,800 meters above sea level.
The cold, fresh, fast-running water comes straight from Mt. Kenya’s snowy peaks and is the source for the water used to wash the coffees in the factories
Processing
The quality of coffee is known for is also a result of its insistence on sorting, to ensure that only perfectly ripe cherries are processed.
Cherries are sorted before they’re pulped. The parchment is fermented overnight and then washed and graded. The sorted parchment is then dried on raised beds for between 8 and 14 days.
The chairman of the society has taken several measures to improve cup quality and the sustainability of the mill and co-op. These include installing tiles on the washing channels, which would otherwise be concrete; and ensuring that the river water used by the mill is cleaned and re-used. (In green, above, is the Kii Factory’s manager.)
Origin
Despite being a neighbour of Ethiopia, the famed birthplace of coffee, coffee didn't arrive in Kenya until 1893 when a French religious congregation called the "Holy Ghost Fathers" introduced coffee trees from Reunion Island. Mission farms near Nairobi were used as the base around which Kenyan coffee growing developed.
Today, the major growing regions in Kenya are in the High Plateaus, where rich volcanic soils provide excellent growing conditions for coffee trees. Everything about Kenyan coffee oozes quality, from the beans to the trade itself. Quality control is paramount, and many farmers are extremely well-educated and rewarded for their output. In Kenya, coffee isn't graded as generic AA or AB; instead, coffee is sold at auction where heated competition drives up the price. A whole lot of research and development goes into Kenyan coffee, and quality control, a system that encourages farmers to produce top level coffee so they can get the best price at auction.
Characteristics of Kenyan Coffee
Kenyan Arabica is grown on rich volcanic soils found in the highlands between 1,400 to 2,000 meters above sea level. Its altitude makes for a bright coffee, not for those who are adverse to acidity. But if acidity's your thing, then Kenyan coffee is where it's at. Kenyan coffee is complex and can possess interesting fruit flavours of berry and citrus, some almost winey.
