AA Kihuyo Lot 6191, Nyeri, Kenya | Washed MMY-0269

Kihuyo is one of the factory members of the Mutheka Farmer´s Cooperative Society in central Kenya which has 6000 members, each with around 160 coffee trees. The co-op has seven washing stations in total.

At the Kihuyo factory the coffee cherry is washed and pulped. This initially separates the dense beans from the immature mbuni's (floaters) using water flotation, which means the denser beans will sink and be sent through channels to the fermentation tank.

This first stage of fermentation will last for around 24 hours, after which the beans are washed and sent to the secondary fermentation tank for another 12-24 hours. Once the fermentation process is completed, the beans enter the washing channels where floaters are separated further and the dense beans are cleaned of mucilage.

The washed beans will then enter soaking tanks where they can sit under clean water for as long as another 24 hours. This soaking process allows amino acids and proteins in the cellular structure of each bean to develop, which results in higher levels of acidity and complex fruit flavours in the cup – it is thought that this process of soaking contributes to the flavour profiles that Kenyan coffees are so famed for.

The beans are then transferred to the initial drying tables, where they are laid in a thin layer to allow around 50% of the moisture to be quickly removed. This first stage of drying can last around 6 hours before the beans are gathered and laid in thicker layers for the remaining 5-10 days of the drying period. The dry parchment coffee is then delivered to a private mill and put into bodegas to rest; these are raised cells made of chicken wire which allow the coffee to breathe fully.