Please give a warm welcome back to this stunning classic washed Kenyan coffee from Kainamui factory(mill). We've had this coffee in previous years and when we were sent some samples by importer Covoya we jumped straight in. Kainamui is a coffee processing station in the Ngariama area of the Kirinyaga district in the Central Province, north of Nairobi. There are 1800 farmers who deliver coffee to the Kainamui Factory and each farmer has an average of 200 coffee trees.

The coffee cherries are hand sorted for unripes and overripes by the farmers before they go into production. The pulp is removed and the coffee is fermented for 24-36 hours under close shade depending on climate temperatures. After fermentation the coffees are washed and again graded by density in washing channels. They are then taken to the drying tables where they are dried for 12 to 20 days (this time depends on weather conditions). Coffees are covered in plastic during midday and at night to protect the beans from night moisture and rains.

Most of the coffee grown in this area is of the SL28 and SL34 varietals. Both cultivars have Bourbon and Mokka heritage and are named after the laboratory that promoted their wider distribution in Kenya during the early 20th century – Scott Laboratories, now the National Agricultural Laboratories of Kenya.

The standard grading systems for Kenyan coffees is based on screen size (in mm):

E (Elephant beans) = screen 19 and up, AA = 17/18, AB = 16/17, PB = Peaberries.

This lot comprises the AA's, traditionally considered to be the higher quality grade.

The Kainamui washing station does more than simply allow local farmers to process their coffee, it also supports its members by providing them with financial assistance for school fees and farming needs.