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Juicy notes of red fruit including cherry, cranberry, and red currant blend with bright citrus reminiscent of blood orange and tangerine zest. A clean, raw sugar sweetness tempers the tart fruit into flavors reminiscent of cranberry juice, cherry candy, and citrus marmalade, bringing dried cranberry into focus for the unmistakable impression of craisins. The cup finishes bright and juicy, with lingering citrus zest and a gentle berry-like acidity.

This coffee is a natural processed lot sourced from two neighboring washing stations: Njuriga and Gichichi. Both are located in Nyeri County in the central Kenyan highlands.
Nyeri sits between the eastern slopes of the Aberdare Range and the western foothills of Mt. Kenya, and it is arguably the most celebrated coffee-growing region in the country. The deep red volcanic soils here are rich in nutrients, and the high altitude brings cool nights and slow cherry maturation — the recipe for the dense, intensely flavorful beans that made Kenyan coffee famous.
Unlike the large estates found in some origins, coffee in Nyeri is overwhelmingly a smallholder affair. The typical farmer here tends fewer than 250 trees on less than an acre of land, often alongside food crops and dairy cattle. Because no single farm produces enough cherry to process on its own, farmers organize into cooperative societies that operate centralized wet mills, known locally as "factories," where members deliver their cherry on the day it is picked.
The Njuriga factory began operating in 1999 and serves the members of the Njuriga Farmers' Cooperative Society, which is composed of over 470 smallholders led by Pauline Mumbi Karim. The farms supplying Njuriga sit between 5,600 and 5,850 feet, on nutrient-rich clay soils planted with SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian.
The Gichichi factory lies nearby, close to the town of Othaya, and operates under the Othaya Farmers' Cooperative Society, one of the oldest and most respected cooperative organizations in Kenya. Roughly 500 smallholders composed of ~350 men and ~150 women, deliver cherry to Gichichi from farms at approximately 5,900 feet, growing the same classic lineup of varieties.
Those varieties deserve a word. SL28 and SL34 were selected at Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s and are responsible for the blackcurrant-like acidity and intense sweetness that define the classic Kenya cup profile. Ruiru 11 and Batian are more recent Kenyan-bred varieties selected for resistance to coffee leaf rust and coffee berry disease, allowing farmers to maintain production without heavy spraying.
What makes this lot unusual is the processing. Kenya built its reputation almost entirely on meticulously washed coffees, and naturals remain rare here. This lot was floated and hand-sorted, then dried whole in the sun on raised beds. Workers rake and turn the cherry continuously for even drying which ensures beneficial fermentation. The result is layers of deep, jammy red fruit over the abundant sweet, bright, base Nyeri is known for.
This is also a hopeful story. Kenyan coffee production has fallen from roughly 130,000 metric tons to around 40,000 over the past two decades, as aging trees, low farmgate prices, and urban development pushed many smallholders out of coffee. Experimental lots like this one, which stand out at auction and command meaningful premiums, are one of the ways cooperatives like Njuriga and Othaya are working to make coffee worth growing for their members' next generation. We're thrilled to feature it.

Like most naturals, this coffee shines with slightly cooler water and a touch more coffee in the brew. We recommend water around 200°F in a ~1:16 ratio to keep the fruit notes sweet and juicy.