Karatu AA (SL28) | Kiambu, Kenya

Description

Producer: Karatu washing station Location: Kiambu, Kenya Variety: SL28 Processing: Double Washed Harvest: Dec-Jan 2025/26 Cup profile: refreshing redcurrant, mango, & melon-like character SL28 from Karatu washing station, where members of Gitwe Farmer's Coop deliver their ripe cherries to be processed. A traditional take on washed processing, with a signature 72hr. double soak, resulting in a crisp and clean profile with a refreshing redcurrant, mango, & melon-like character. __________________________________________ More about Karatu Karatu Coffee Factory has operated since 1965 in Gatundu Division, serving smallholder farmers across four villages on red volcanic soils similar to those around Gititu, just a few kilometres away. The factory processes coffee using Kenya's signature double wash method: a 24-hour initial fermentation, water replacement, then continued fermentation up to 72 hours total. A tradition that started as a practical response to managing drying bed capacity during peak harvest. The parchment then moves to raised beds for 7 to 15 days, depending on weather and volume. Like most washing stations in the region, Karatu operates within real constraints. Farmers deliver cherry, get paid immediately, and the factory moves coffee through the system as efficiently as possible. The factory has made environmental choices like wastewater pits away from water sources, encouragement of on-farm shade planting, practical steps towards sustainability. Farmers here grow banana and maize alongside coffee, with grevillea or macadamia providing shade. This outturn is particularly neat as its dominant SL28 and it's a vibrant one, with things that remind us of redcurrant and ripe mango.