Collection: KENYA COFFEE LIST

The farm Kamavindi was founded by the late John Njiru Mbature during British colonial rule in 1958. Originally, the 20 hectare (~50 acre) farm started with only 100 seedlings because native Africans were only allowed to grow a total of 100 trees by law. The restrictions were lifted in 1961, and John planted an additional 500 trees. Over the years, Kamavindi has acquired more land, and planted a total of 10,000 trees; 7,000 SL28, and 3,000 Ruiru 11. Now, Peter Mbature, his mother Hellen Weveti, and his sister Gladwell Wanjira, all work and manage the farm together. They are working towards replacing the Ruiru 11 trees with SL28 for a full farm of pure SL28. They are also setting up a training center for farmers and coffee buyers to teach classes on processing and farm management.

Harvested at peak ripeness. Hand sorted and floated to further remove defects. Depulped on the day of harvest. Mixed to ensure uniform distribution. Dry fermented for 18-20 hours covered from sunlight. Washed and turned in fresh water to remove mucilage. Washing is repeated until the water post-washing is clean. Dry fermented for an additional 24 hours. Washed a final time and floated through channels to sort by density and remove any remaining defects. Dried on raised beds under shade nets until moisture reaches 16%, then moved to upper beds to finish drying to ~10.5%.

This is our first season working with Peter and his coffees from Kamavindi, and we look forward to collaborating with this high-quality, rigorously produced raw material.