This is our third year working with this Karimikui AA lot, and one of our favourite expressions of this coffee yet. This coffee is a field blend of some incredible Kenyan varietals, all working in tandem to produce this vibrant and juicy cup. ### In the cup We taste juicy red currants and tart berries. This coffee has a raw sugar like sweetness with a delicate florality and a memorable acidity.<br /> ### About The Producer The Karimikui factory is located at a high altitude in an area where tea is more commonly grown than coffee. It is a member of the Rungeto FCS, a cooperative that is known for producing some of the highest-performing coffees in Kenya. Hundreds of smallholders deliver ripe cherries to this station every year where the factory team manually sorts them before production. The final cup is incredibly sweet, intense, and reminiscent of black currant and sweet citrus. It is the nutrient-dense soil in this area paired with the immaculate processing method used at this factory that makes this coffee consistently high-performing year after year. ### Processing Select cherries are de-pulped and graded before undergoing a period of dry fermentation in tanks. After fermentation, the coffees are washed in clean channels. A period of soaking (second wash) occurs shortly after to ensure the development of flavours reaches their full potential. In the final stage, the coffees are placed on raised beds to dry where they get covered with plastic throughout the hottest part of the day and overnight. Workers periodically rotate the coffees at this stage to ensure the coffees dry evenly. ### Variety SL-28 is among the most well-known and well-regarded varieties of Africa. It has consequently spread from Kenya, where it was originally selected in the 1930s, to other parts of Africa (it is important in Arabica-growing regions of Uganda, in particular) and now to Latin America. The variety is suited for medium to high altitudes and shows resistance to drought, but is susceptible to the major diseases of coffee. SL28 is notable for its rusticity—a quality meaning that it can be left untended for years or even decades at a time, and then return to successful production. There are SL-28 trees in many parts of Kenya that are 60-80 years old and still productive. Ruiru is a variety that is resistant to coffee leaf rust and coffee berry disease. This variety was created at the Coffee Research Institute (CRI) in Ruiru, Kenya. Batian was released in Kenya in 2010. This variety was created via single-tree selections from fifth filial generations from the male parent of some Riuru 11 progenies. Batian is a composite variety, mixing three different pure line varieties.