Kenya Karundu

Highlights

“The Karundu Factory has been operating since the 1960s: a wet mill run by the Rugi Farmers Co-operative Society in Nyeri County, set in the foothills between the Aberdare Range and Mt. Kenya. Around 700 smallholder members deliver cherry here, and the average farm is just 0.3 acres — about 100 trees per family — in the red volcanic soils central Kenya is known for. The lot is a fully washed field blend of SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 and Batian. Cherry is pulped using water pumped from the Sagana River, held overnight, then washed, soaked and spread on raised drying tables. The parchment is turned often as it dries, then sorted and rested in conditioning bins before it goes to the mill. In the cup: blackberry and stone fruit with caramel sweetness.”