AA Field Blend by Gakuyuini

AA Field Blend: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11 & Batian

This is a classic Kenyan Field Blend of the SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11 & Batian coffee varietals. ‘AA’ represents a degree of sorting, being the largest beans (seen as the highest quality in Kenya). SL-28 & SL-34 were developed in the mid-20th century by Scott Agricultural Laboratories, often prized for their vibrant acidity and sweetness. With Ruiru 11 & Batian being more balanced in profile and offering producers plants with higher resilience to pests & climatic changes. This Field Blend is very common across Kenya and is a large contributor to the quality of Kenyan coffee.

'Washed'

This is a processing method where the coffee fruit is removed from the seed and all the sugars are washed away. This process typically involves a short fermentation time to help the sugars break down before washing.

Kenya has a unique approach to washing where the coffee undergoes an initial soak or second washing. Sometimes reffered to as 'Double Washed'.

How this coffee was processed:

Farmers of the Thirikwa Cooperative pick their cherries by hand and deliver them to the Gakuyuini factory for pulping, sorting and drying. Upon delivery, farmers sort their cherries to meet the factories standards. The coffee cherries are pulped before being graded, ensuring only the highest quality cherries are selected. After a 6-24 hour fermentation, the coffees are washed with clean water and soaked for another 16-18 hours, creating that distinct crisp acidity unique to coffees in this region. Lastly, the coffee beans are covered and dried on raised beds under the sun for 21 days.

Thirikwa FCS

Thirikwa Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) is a producer group that consistently delivers top-quality profiles and pays its farmers well.

This information has been provided to us by our importer.

Gakuyuini Factory

The Gakuyini factory sits at 1700 masl on the slopes of Mount Kenya, and benefits from the fertile volcanic soil in this area. This factory implements various sustainable practices throughout its production. They distribute manure that can be used as fertilizer and recycle the water used for processing cherries, filtered through a lagoon system. They use a Penagos Ecopulper, which reduces water consumption drastically.

This information has been provided to us by our importer.