Kenya Kaganda PB - washed SL28 & SL34

Kaganda is a washing station in Muranga County, Central Kenya Province. In Kenya, these stations are called factories. This region, like the Nyeri district, is renowned for its complex, flavorful, and intense coffees. Owned by the Kaganda Farmers Cooperative Society, the factory has about 1,050 independent smallholder farmers as its members. It was established in 1970 and is situated on a 5-acre land serving the villages of Gathiru, Gathaithi, Gathambara, Gatuongo, and Kagaa. Similar to other major coffee-producing areas of Kenya like Nyeri and Embu, farmers in this area grow other crops alongside coffee trees, such as macadamia, bananas. 

In Kenya, farmers use a unique double-fermentation washing process for their coffee. The washed coffee is known for its distinct flavours and attributes. In this process, natural fermentation weakens the sugars in the coffee's mucilage. The fermentation can be done by either stacking the coffee in a concrete tank without water or by placing it under water and letting nature take its course. Once the sugars are weakened, the coffee beans can be washed in concrete channels to remove any extra sugars or mucilage.

During wet processing, the pulp is mechanically removed. The remaining mesocarp, known as mucilage, sticks to the parchment and needs to be removed before drying. Because the mucilage does not dissolve in water and sticks strongly to the parchment, it cannot be removed by simple washing.

The coffee cherries were hand-selected by farmers before being processed. After removing the skin, the coffee was placed in fermentation tanks where it was stored, washed, soaked, and spread out on drying tables. It is necessary to turn the coffee frequently on the tables until it reaches the desired humidity level of 11-12%. Finally, the coffee is stored in its parchment to rest until it is delivered to the dry mill.

This is a very sweet washed Kenyan coffee, much sweeter than the AA one. A bit less acidic but still very juicy and suitable for filter. A lot of fruits and no bitter notes.