Archival Release #41Kii AA

This month we have an archival selection from the 2022 harvest in Kirinyaga County in Kenya. This AA screen-size lot comes from coffees harvested at multiple family-owned farms that are located in close proximity to the Kii wet mill, or ‘factory’, as they are commonly referred to in Kenya. The Kii wet mill is one of three factories managed by the Rungeto Farmers’ Cooperative Society: a large collective organization in Kirinyaga County that counts approximately 1200 smallholder coffee farmers as active members. Kii’s two “sister factories” are also household names in Kenyan specialty coffee: Karimikui and Kiangoi. Wet processing at Kii factory follows a fairly standard approach across Kenya: after the coffee has been pulped, it undergoes approximately 24 hours of fermentation before being thoroughly washed in clean water and soaked for 12 hours. Before the newly processed “parchment” is transferred to raised beds for drying (usually for a period of approximately 14 days), meticulous care is taken to remove as many defective seeds as possible (floaters), and to grade the coffee by density in washing channels. The 2022 harvest represented a return to form in Kenya after a number of challenging years working to source truly stellar Kenyan coffees. With that in mind, we’re excited to once again showcase the classic characteristics we found so enjoyable from the 2022 harvest year: Intense sweetness, mouth-watering acidity, and a complex array of fruit-driven flavors in the cup. We find aromatics of blackcurrant, grapefruit, and tropical fruit, leading to a cup profile with toffee-like sweetness and juicy flavors of gooseberry and peach.