Karimikui, Kenya

Karimikui is a coffee mill in Ngariama, in Kenya’s Kirinyaga region, where smallholder farmers grow coffee on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya. The farms sit between 1,600 and 1,900 metres above sea level, in rich volcanic soil. Local farmers planted their first coffee trees in 1953. Today, the grower-owned Rung’eto Farmers Cooperative Society serves 2,858 active farmers across its three wet mills — Karimikui, Kii and Kiangoi.

During the October to December harvest, farmers pick ripe cherries and bring them to Karimikui for sorting and processing. This AA microlot brings together four varieties grown by local farmers — Batian, SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11. It can be traced back to the Karimikui mill, where cherries from neighbouring farms are processed together.

Karimikui uses the washed method. In this part of Kenya, cherries are typically pulped on the day they arrive, removing the outer skin and most of the fruit. The beans then ferment in open concrete tanks, usually for 24–48 hours, to loosen the sticky layer of fruit still clinging to them. Once fermentation is complete, workers wash the beans in water channels to carry away the remaining fruit. A distinctive part of the Kenyan process is a second soak in clean water, typically lasting 12–72 hours. Finally, the beans are spread across raised beds, where air circulates above and below them as they dry.