Ilse Coffee

Kenya | Kainamui AA

Kainamui washing station sits at 1,650 MASL on the slopes of Mt. Kenya in Kirinyaga County, where 2,000 small-holder farmers—many with just 200 trees—deliver cherries year-round. The washed process emphasizes cleanliness and complexity: cherries are floated, depulped, density sorted, then dry fermented for 24 hours before a second 12–24 hour fermentation post-wash, followed by extended soaking and 10–15 days on drying beds. The result is ripe, vibrant fruit—blackberry juice, black currant, raspberry, and orange—with the bright acidity that defines exceptional Kenyan coffees. Established in 1963 and part of the New Ngariama Farmers Cooperative, this station leverages Mt. Kenya's cool climate and glacier-fed water to produce one of the season's standout Kenyan lots.