Kenya Misadhi Blue Mountain

Misadhi Coffee Society is a group of coffee farmers in the Etago region, who through their organization are experimenting with a variety of drying and fermentation methods. In this lot, they have fermented freshly picked coffee cherries, mainly of the variety Blue Mountain in an oxygen-poor environment, known as anaerobic fermentation. The coffee has undergone a closed fermentation for 96 hours - in their proprietary yeast tanks - under close supervision to ensure that the pH does not drop below 3.5. They call this process Etago Extra Special. The result is a coffee with a vinous fruitiness like that of really sweet raisins, grapes and prunes. 

HARVEST

Experienced cherry pickers carefully select only ripe cherries from the trees. Cherries harvested from the Etago region are transported to the Misadhi Society processing plant, where they undergo a thorough quality inspection before being accepted for further processing.

SEPARATION

Accepted cherries are floated to remove immature, unripe, or overripe ones. This step ensures that lighter, lower-quality cherries are separated from the dense, high-quality cherries. The separated cherries are then processed as a distinct lot.

PROCESSING

The cherries are placed into fermentation tanks equipped with a bottom tap and a pressure bulb on top for monitoring the fermentation process. The pH level is checked every 12 hours by drawing liquid through the tap to assess the progress of fermentation. This particular coffee underwent fermentation for 96 hours, with careful monitoring to ensure the pH does not drop below 3.5.

DRYING

Fermented cherries are then transported to the drying beds and are dried for 21 days until desired moisture content of 12% is reached.

BEFORE EXPORT

The dried cherries are stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled warehouse until the coffee is ready for milling. Once milled, the coffee is processed through a gravity separator or density table to separate lighter beans based on density. The sorted beans are then sent for hand-picking at the warehouse, where defects are carefully removed to ensure the coffee meets specialty coffee standards.