Arts:Food
The Kieni wet mill is located in Nyeri in the central highlands of Kenya, at an altitude of 1,700 metres above sea level. It's run by the Mugaga Farmers' Cooperative Society.
Nyeri county has cool temperatures and fertile central highlands; it lies between the eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) mountain range, which forms part of the eastern end of the Great Rift valley and the western slopes of Mt. Kenya. Nyeri town (county headquarters) acts as a destination for those visiting Aberdare National Park and Mt. Kenya. It is in Nyeri county, at the Treetops hotel, (a rustic treehouse hotel) where the young Elizabeth went upstairs a princess and came down in the morning as Queen of England. Her father, King George VI, died on 5 February 1952, the night she spent at Treetops while on honeymoon.
Most of the coffee beans from Nyeri develop and mature slowly, producing extra hard beans. This quality is also evident in the cup. As a result, Nyeri is traditionally known as the heart of Kenya’s black gold coffee.
The coffee is mainly grown on the slopes and the upper plateau where most of the farmers' homes are located. The farms are demarcated into small family plots where each individual family looks after their own coffee.
The mill has recently installed an electronic weighing system, that not only weighs the farmer's cherries when they deliver them - it also prints out a receipt for them, including a running total of how much they have delivered so far.
Kieni is one of a number of mills owned by the Mugaga Farmers' Cooperative, and currently has around 1,000 members, although this constantly varies and not all members will always deliver their cherry to Kieni.
This coffee is wet processed. It's pulped, fermented (soaked for 8-16 hours (with fresh water at 8 hours) and then fermented for 8 - 16 hours) before being washed and then dried slowly over 2–3 weeks, while the moisture content is reduced to 10–12%. Random interesting fact, the depulper at Kieni can manage up to 5,000kg per hour.
In the cup this has a totally tropical taste of Lilt (regional reference there for you) in both its sweetness and acidity. It also has an effervescence to add to this descriptor. In the aftertaste it turns a little more orangey (Tango) with a delicate caramel hint.
- Country: Kenya
- County: Nyeri
- Mill: Kieni
- Society: Mugaga Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited
- Farmers: 905
- Acreage farmed: 202 acres
- Altitude: 1,700 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: SL28
- Coffee grade: AA
- Flowering period: March
- Harvest season: October–December
- Average annual rainfall: 1,680mm
- Average annual temperature: 12–27°C
- Soil type: red volcanic soils that are rich in phosphorus, and which are drained well
- Processing method: Wet processing (Washed)
- Drying process: Dry, milling after the parchment has dried
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