Kenia Karimikui AA
Washing station
Karimikui is a well-known washing station that has been part of the specialty coffee scene in Kenya since its inception. Located in Ngairiama, Karimikui is one of three washing stations that make up the Rugento Farmers Society cooperative along with Kiangoi and Kii. Founded in 1953, the cooperative has approximately 3,507 members each of whom typically has one hectare of land to grow coffee.
The Karimikui Washing Station receives and processes cherries from 1,200 smallholder coffee farmers of which: 720 are men and 480 are women.
About the cultivars:
There are two varieties in Kenya that in particular attract the majority interest of the specialty coffee industry, these are SL28 and SL34.
Scott Laboratories was contracted to develop new cultivars between 1934 and 1963. The development of the SL cultivars was based on the Mokka and Bourbon varieties, which were brought to Kenya by Scottish and French missionaries from Yemen and Reunion Island respectively.
Today, these two varieties are responsible for most of the quality coffee Kenya produces, but they are susceptible to rust.
Process
Processing at Karimikui consists of several stages. Initially, the coffee beans are pulped to separate the dense beans from the immature ‘mbuni’ (floaters) using a water flotation method. The denser beans settle and are sent through channels to the fermentation tank where they undergo the first stage of fermentation for approximately 24 hours. After this initial stage, the beans are washed and transferred to the secondary fermentation tank for another 12 to 24 hours.
After the first fermentation process is complete, the beans are taken through washing channels where the floaters are further separated and the dense beans are cleaned of any remaining mucilage that may have adhered to them. The washed beans then enter soaking tanks, where they can sit under clean water for another 24 hours. This soaking process allows amino acids and proteins to develop in the cellular structure of each bean, resulting in higher levels of acidity and complex fruity flavors in the cup. It is the famous process in Kenya called: fully washed with double fermentation.
Once the soaking process is complete, the beans are spread out on drying tables in a thin layer to allow about 50% of the moisture to be quickly removed. This first stage of drying can last about 6 hours. The beans are then picked and placed in thicker layers for the remaining 5 to 10 days of the drying period. Once dried, the parchment coffee is transferred to a private mill and placed in “cellars” to rest.
Despite its proximity to Ethiopia, coffee was not cultivated in Kenya until the late 1880s, when French missionaries brought seeds to the Taita Hills area. Introduced in the Kiambu district in 1896, coffee found an excellent combination of altitude, soil and temperature that gave rise to the high quality of Kenyan coffees known worldwide.
While Catholic missionaries are credited with introducing coffee to Kenya, it was English settlers who accelerated the importance of coffee in the Kenyan economy. Large-scale production of this and other crops was encouraged, for export to Europe to pay off the exorbitant debts generated by the construction of the railway that connected Uganda to the port of Mombasa in 1901.
By 1912, there were already large plantations of several hectares in expansion, where the Bourbon and Mokka varieties were mainly grown.
Interesting fact: The Bourbon variety was first cultivated on a small island now known as “Reunion Island.” It is located in Africa, in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It is considered a region of France and until 1789 its name was “Bourbon Island,” in honor of the royal house of Bourbon.
As a legacy of colonial days, auction sales have encouraged coffee growers and cooperatives to constantly strive for quality in order to achieve the highest possible prices at auctions from buyers in Nairobi.
Even today, the largest coffee growing area extends from Kiambu, on the outskirts of Nairobi, to the slopes of Mount Kenya. The counties in this region also known as Central Kenya – Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Nyeri – produce almost 70% of the national production.
Coffee trees find very fertile soils in Kenya’s growing regions. The soils are young and volcanic and very rich in organic matter. The altitude in the coffee growing areas ranges from a minimum of 1,280 m above sea level in Embu, in the eastern part of the Mount Kenya region, to a maximum of 2,300 m above sea level in Nyeri, on the western slopes.
Kenya currently produces about 0.5% of the world coffee market, there are approximately 700,000 small coffee growers and it is estimated that around 6 million people depend directly or indirectly on the coffee industry. It produces mainly washed coffees and is considered by many to be the number one quality producer in the world.
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