Our videocast: In My Mug
Episodes
Sunday Oct 04, 2015
Sunday Oct 04, 2015
The Kieni Wet Mill is located in Nyeri in the central highlands of Kenya at an altitude of 1,700 metres above sea level and is run by the Mugaga Farmers' Cooperative Society.
Nyeri County has cool temperatures and fertile central highlands, lying between the Eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) 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 tree house hotel) where the young Elizabeth went up a princess and came down in the morning as queen of England. Her father, King George VI, died on 5th 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.
Coffee is mainly grown on the slopes and the upper plateau where most of the homes are located, the farms are demarcated into small family plots where each individual family looks after their own coffee.
The coffee is wet processed, where the fully ripe cherries are; pulped, fermented, washed then dried slowly over 2- 3 weeks where the moisture content is reduced to 10-12%. The coffee is then delivered to the dry mill.
In the cup expect a super traditional Kenyan that's been shaken up with a Tiki twist. First thing you'll get is the huge creamy mouthfeel, like double cream with some clotted cream added in for fun. Then there's a big hit of juicy tropical fruit which finishes with a super sweet pineapple acidity. A deliciously different Kenyan.
- 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 Perioid: 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 are well drained
- Processing Method: Wet processing (Washed)
- Drying Process: Dry, milling after the parchment has dried