Kenya Nyeri / Nandu Washed

Beans from Kenya, Washed processed, varieties Batian, Ruiru11, SL28, SL34 with flavour notes of: Currants, Orange, Raspberries.

The Ngandu factory, located in the Kirimukuyu district in the western part of Mathira, Nyeri county, is part of the Rutuma Farmer Cooperative Society (FCS) – a cooperative associating 7,731 registered members, of whom 3,268 are active.
The factory itself has 800 registered growers, of whom 680 regularly deliver coffee cherries during harvest.
Ngandu is one of the five wet processing stations belonging to this cooperative, alongside Rutrhagati, Ndurutu, Karie, and Kianjogu.

Growers belonging to the Ngandu Factory mainly cultivate SL28, SL34, Batian and Ruiru 11 varieties.
The “SL” series varieties (from Scott Agricultural Laboratories) were developed in the 1930s and 1940s. Thanks to their deep root system, they quickly gained popularity among Kenyan producers, as they allowed for maximum utilisation of limited water resources and thrived even without irrigation.

The Rutuma FCS cooperative places great emphasis on sustainable development and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) among its members, promoting cultivation with minimal environmental impact wherever possible.

Coffee cherries are carefully hand-picked by smallholder farmers at peak ripeness and delivered to the station for processing.
The washed method is used here, where the fruits are first sorted and then pulped to remove the outer skin.
The beans are then subjected to fermentation in concrete tanks for 12–24 hours, depending on temperature and climatic conditions, to break down the mucilage layer.

After fermentation, the beans are rinsed in grading channels using fresh water from the Gatiba stream, and then transferred to raised beds or solar dryers.
The drying process lasts from 7 to 14 days, with workers regularly turning the beans and covering them during the hottest hours of the day to ensure even drying and prevent defects.