Kenya Kiruga AA

Country: Kenya
Region: Nyeri County
Varietal: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,863 MASL
Cupping Notes: Red Currant, White Tea, Brown Sugar

Description: The Kiruga Factory was established in 1966 in Kiruga Village, on the banks of the Gikira River which originates in The Aberdare Ranges. Today they serve 792 growers in the region, with 300 women farmers and 492 men who farm and harvest coffee alongside their families. The cup quality benefits not only from these growers dedication, but also from the high elevation of the region and red volcanic soils, rich in phosphorus. Once cherries are fully ripe, it is picked and delivered to Kiruga Factory. Here it will be sorted before being pulped, fermented, and then washed clean of mucilage. Parchment coffee is then delivered to raised beds for slow drying, taking 14-21 days. At this point, coffee is then trucked to Nairobi where it will be dry milled and prepared for export. Once milled is also when grading takes place, including the grading of this AA. The Kenyan Grading System is (mostly) used to sort between different sizes of green coffees, not to distinguish between qualities. AA denotes that the coffees are screen sizes 17-18, measured in 64th of an inch.