Rounton Coffee Roasters: Kenya, Kirigu, Gakuyu Farmers Coop, Washed

Kirigu washing station is part of the Gakuyu Farmers’ Cooperative Society and is located near the town of Karatina in Nyeri county. The washing station has around 1000 registered members who deliver cherry there. Cherry that is brought to the Kirigu wet mill is pulped and fermented the same day and after 36 to 48 hours of fermentation the coffee is moved to soaking tanks.

Once the coffee has been soaked it’s moved to the shaded, skin drying area where the coffee is pre-dried to wick away the water covering the beans and allow the coffee to rest and dry slowly before a more intense period of sun drying. After 24 hours of shade drying, the coffee is moved to drying beds in full sun where it dries for between 10 and 15 days.

We take our Kenyan coffees to a lower end temperature than our other coffees, to really try and coax out the acidity. Having said that, they are also well developed, to avoid any grassy, vegetal notes. They’re quite a tricky one to get to behave in the roaster! We always think of Kenyan coffees as having a quality a bit like lemon curd - they’re bright and a little bit tangy, but they have a really pleasant body underpinning them which totally ties it all together. This Kirigu is no different, but with a complex grapefruit feel to it.