Kenya - Murue Ngurueri AA

Origine: Embu county, Kenya     
Variety: SL 28&34, Batian, Ruiru 11
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1,600 - 1,800 MASL

The Ngurueri washing station is situated near the town of Kianjokoma, in Embu County, which is one of the smaller counties in
central Kenya and borders the forest of Mt Kenya. Managed by the Murue FCS, Ngurueri is one of four factories, the others
being Kianyangi, Kavutiri, and Gituara. All of them are located near Kianjokoma, and together they serve about 1050 smallholder
farmers. These farmers manage an average of 250 trees each and own about half an acre of land per family.

How this coffee was processed

The cherries are carefully hand-picked and sorted before being brought to the washing station. Upon arrival, they are floated
and sorted by ripeness, removing underripe, overripe, and foreign matter. They are then pulped using Pinhalense eco pulpers,
which are more efficient and require less water. The parchment goes through fermentation and is left overnight. Some factories
do intermediate washing every 6-8 hours, adding water to stir up the parchment and then draining it again.

Once fermentation is complete, the parchment is washed and graded by density in washing channels. The denser coffee, which
is considered higher in quality, is soaked for 16-24 hours. This process enhances the acidity complexity of the coffee and helps to
increase proteins and amino acids in the parchment. After soaking, the coffee is moved to dry on hessian mesh for up to one day
before being taken to the drying tables. It is normally dried on a surface of jute cloth or shad net layered over the table wire
mesh, and the drying time varies between 9-15 days depending on weather and rainfall. The coffee is constantly turned to ensure even drying.

How this coffee tastes

A coffee with gentle Kenyan flavors. This is a mildly juicy, bright, and refreshing coffee with a sweet citrus flavor, as well as red grape and green apple-like acidity, and a lingering sweetness of brown sugar.