Kenya | Muranga, PB, Washed
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Country: Kenya
Region: Muranga
Murarandia washing station
New Murarandia FCS cooperative
Taste Notes: Blackcurrant, Red Apples, Dark Chocolate Mendiants
Roast: Filter
*Peaberry coffee is a relatively rare type of coffee bean that occurs due to a natural mutation or defect in the cherry. These beans are typically smaller, rounder, and denser than regular coffee beans, with a potential for sweeter and more complex cup, compared to the usual beans.
Extended story
Murarandia Factory was founded in 1997 and is part of the New Murarandia Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) along with the Gatuya factory. It has approximately 2,560 members (small coffee growers), who cultivate a total of 438 hectares of land and produce 73,202 kg of green coffee annually.
What is a PEABERRY & how does it form?
Inside a regular coffee cherry with no defects, you’re expected to find two seeds, with their flat fronts facing inwards, and their round backs facing outwards. The seeds of the coffee cherry are what is removed, processed, and roasted for consumers to enjoy i.e. coffee “beans”.
Peaberries are estimated to make up around 5–10% of a harvest. They occur as a result of a natural mutation, or defect, inside a coffee cherry, where one ovule fails to pollinate. This results in extra space for the single developing seed. Within this space, a larger and rounder seed grows inside. This is a peaberry.
Not all one-seeded cherries can be defined as peaberries, as it’s possible for only one regular, flat-sided seed to develop inside a cherry.
Peaberries are usually sorted and separated during the post-harvest process. They’ll either be separated by size using a sieve or, alternatively, by sophisticated machinery which quickly sorts by weight and size.
Muranga lies just south of Nyeri and benefits from the temperate slopes of the Aberdare Range on its western borders. Fertile red volcanic soil provides a wealth of nutrients for growing coffee trees, while warm temperatures during the day and cooler temperatures at night create the best environment for the beans to develop slowly and accumulate the most sugar possible.
Small growers selectively hand-pick only ripe cherries and deliver them to the Murarandia Factory. At the time of admission, the factory manager oversees the meticulous visual sorting and floatation, accepting only dense, ripe cherries. After initial sorting, the cherry is pulped and fermented for approximately 12 to 24 hours. After fermentation, the coffee is washed with clean water and left to soak for 12 hours. The parchment is then laid out to dry on African beds. Workers rake the parchment frequently to ensure an even drying. They cover the drying of the parchment during the hottest hours of the day, to maintain slow drying, and at night, to protect the parchment from moisture. Parchment takes approximately 14-18 days to dry.