KENYA- KIRINYAGA PEABERRY (WASHED)

Several factories in Kirinyaga County process cherry for producers who cultivate around 250 coffee trees on half-acre plots in the fertile foothills of Mount Kenya. With the harvest coming from small parcels, cherry classification is the most critical variable for ensuring cup quality.

Only the ripest cherries are delivered to the factories where additional hand sorting and floating to remove less dense and damaged beans also happens before the coffee is de-pulped, fermented, and washed. After the coffee is washed, it’s soaked in freshwater for long periods of time to solidify the hallmark Kenyan profiles.

The coffee is dried over a period of two weeks on raised beds, which are carefully constructed to ensure proper air circulation and temperature control for optimal drying. When the coffee is milled for export, the green beans are sorted by screen size and graded according to size and shape. Larger beans (17/18 screen) are labeled AA, 15/16 screen are labeled AB, and the round peaberry are labeled PB.