About the Coffee
Kenya Natural Process
For this natural process, fully ripe coffee cherries are carefully selected and sealed in yellow polyethylene bags, creating an oxygen-limited environment for 72 hours of controlled fermentation. After fermentation, the cherries are removed from the bags and spread evenly on raised drying beds. They are turned regularly and protected from rain and nighttime moisture, then slowly sun-dried for approximately 28 days, depending on weather conditions. This extended drying period allows the fruit sugars to develop fully, producing a sweet, fruit-forward coffee with rich body, layered complexity, and pronounced natural fruit character.
About
Thunguri
Thunguri is a long-established cooperative wet mill within the Rumukia Farmers Cooperative Society, located in Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri County, on the western slopes of Mount Kenya. Positioned beside the local Orthodox church, the factory is both a trusted community landmark and an important meeting point for the hundreds of smallholder farmers it serves. At around 1,800 metres, the area’s deep red volcanic soils provide a strong foundation for coffee cultivation.
During the harvest, farmers are asked to deliver only fully ripe red cherries. The factory carries out a further hand-sorting stage before processing. Its classic washed lots use approximately 48 hours of soaking fermentation, followed by washing, brief drying and slow drying on raised beds over a total cycle of around 13–14 days.
Thunguri has also begun exploring experimental natural processing. In these lots, the cherries are sealed in yellow polyethylene bags for approximately 72 hours to create a controlled low-oxygen fermentation, then sun-dried for around 28 days, with the schedule adjusted according to weather conditions. Its washed coffees remain defined by bright, tensile acidity, full berry character and excellent clarity—an expressive signature of the Rumukia system.