Kenya AB Ichamama

About Kenya AB Ichamama

New crop, arrived September 2026 in grainpro protective bags. This top rated Kenya AB coffee comes from the Ichamama Factory, also known as a wet mill, in Nyeri County on the eastern slope of the Aberdares mountain range. The factory processes coffee from 1,100 farmers (about a third of which are women), each one with an average farm size of 250 coffee trees making up roughly half an acre. The farmers are members of the Othaya Farming Cooperative Society which runs its own dry mill operation in Gatuyaini located next to the Ichamama River, hence the name, located next to the nearby Karima Hill forest. The wetmill is nearly on the equator on latitude 00.54° South at an altitude of 1741 meters above sea level.

• Grower: Smallholder farmers organized around the Ichamama Factory
• Cooperative membership: Othaya Farmers Co-operative Society Limited
• Region: Nyeri County, Kenya
• Altitude: 1,220 - 2,300 meters
• Process: Fully washed and dried in raised beds
• Variety: SL28, SL34, and Ruiru 11
• Harvest: April-June (main crop) and October-December ('fly' crop)
• Soil: Volcanic loam
• Certification: Conventional

Ichamama typically ferments for 27-35 hours depending on ambient conditions (the changing mountain climate, as for many processors, tends to dictate fermentation temperatures, and processing staff are required to check fermentation progress every three hours). After fermentation, the parchment is rinsed and the water replenished, and the clean parchment soaks for an additional 12 hours, after which it is sorted by density and brought to the tables to dry, typically for two weeks. After drying is complete the coffee is stored on site and eventually delivered to the Othaya dry mill for grading and a final density sort. The established milling and sorting by grade, or bean size, is a longstanding tradition and positions Kenya coffees well for roasters, by tightly controlling the physical preparation and creating a diversity of profiles from a single processing batch.  

Given current market conditions, in additon to its fine quality, it is also an excellent value.

Cup Characteristics: Savory, brothy aroma. High grown pedigree is apparent and the processing is clean and well done. Pleasantly tart, dark fruit - pomegranate, blackberry jam, blackcurrant, prune.  Very crisp, lively and puckery dry finish. 

Roasting Notes: Kenya can be roasted successfully to various roast levels due to the bean density and high elevations where grown. Light roasting, midway between 1st and 2nd crack will produce a more acidic, delicate and flavorful cup; taken to 2nd crack the body becomes considerably more emphasized and the acidity plays a lesser role. But Kenya can also be roasted beyond 2nd crack to dark roasted, caramelized levels because there is considerable inherit natural sugar, acidity and bean hardness.