Seasonal Kenya Embu 250g Beans

The Kirurumwe Farmers’ Cooperative Society is based in Makengi, Embu on the southeastern slopes of Mount Kenya - an area renowned for producing some of the world’s finest coffee. The Cooperative was officially registered in 1963 and has since become a major force in Embu County’s coffee sector - contributing around 25% of the total coffee cherry produced by small-scale farmers in the region, which reached over 980,000 tonnes in the 2022/2023 season. Today, more than 70% of the cooperative’s production is graded AA and AB, a reflection of the exceptional quality coming from its member farms. In recent years, Kirurumwe has proudly transitioned to selling its coffee as specialty grade, thanks to both consistent quality and ideal growing conditions. The Makengi region’s rich volcanic soil and high altitudes provide an optimal environment for classic Kenyan varietals, including SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian, and K7. Among these, 60% of the trees are SL28 and SL34, with 20% Ruiru 11, and 10% each of Batian and K7. The result is a cup that regularly achieves an average SCAA score of 87 - showcasing complex notes of redcurrant, tropical fruits, pineapple, lemon, and floral undertones, with a wine-like acidity and a clean, elegant finish

Located at elevations of 1,700 to 2,200 metres, Embu’s cooler climate and reliable rainfall create ideal conditions for growing high-quality Arabica. It’s a key coffee-producing region in Kenya - one of the country’s major export sectors. Kirurumwe Farmers’ Cooperative Society began with just 150 members and has grown into a thriving network of over 4,800 registered farmers, with nearly 3,000 active today. The cooperative operates three wet mills - Kevote, Kianjuki, and Ngaindethia - where all coffee is carefully washed to produce a clean, vibrant cup.

At Kirurumwe Farmers’ Cooperative Society, harvesting is done with great care - each coffee cherry is handpicked only when perfectly ripe to ensure maximum sweetness and clarity in the cup. Freshly picked cherries are delivered to the cooperative’s wet mills that same day, preserving their quality from the very start. The cherries are then carefully sorted to remove any under-ripe or damaged fruit, allowing only the highest quality to move forward. The pulping, fermentation, and washing stages are closely supervised to bring out the coffee’s vibrant and refined character. The resulting parchment is then laid out on raised African drying beds, where it dries slowly under the sun - turned frequently and protected from the intense midday heat to ensure even moisture loss and flavour development.

Kenyan coffees are widely recognised for their consistently high quality - but this particular lot offered something more nuanced than the typical bright berry and citrus profile. Our quality team noted an elegant shift in character, with delicate floral tones and a pronounced raspberry sweetness that set it apart. These refined layers make for an exceptionally vibrant and delicious cup - one that showcases the unique potential of this origin when everything aligns just right.

Why Our Coffee is The Best?

Sourcing the Pick of the Crop

Established relationships with producers and the coffee farming community means we can consistently source the best Arabica and Robusta beans from over 40 origins across the Coffee Growing Belt. At Kingdom Coffee we always demand the pick of the crop. We buy Grade 1 or “Strictly High Grown” – SHG coffee beans. By selecting only coffee beans from the highest elevations we can be sure that the bean has matured more slowly, grown to a larger size and with more density to create a consistently great taste profile.

There’s no denying that coffee grown at higher elevations produces the best flavour profiles, which is then sorted and graded by the farmers with greater care and attention and therefore command a higher premium price which we are very happy to pay! We believe passionately that farmers should be rewarded fairly for their hard work and the quality of their crop.

 

 

Investing in the Purest and Cleanest Roast

ROASTING BETTER: We are unique in that we roast on a clean bed of air in small batches as opposed to conventional drum roasting - only 1% of coffee is roasted this way. Air roasting elevates the natural sweetness to give a smooth and pure taste. Unlike traditional roasting, the chaff, the skin of the bean, that surrounds the raw bean is removed during the air process whilst in normal roasting this is burnt onto the bean. This makes the resultant air roasted beans more pure as the beans will taste less burnt and acidic.

CONSISTENCY: Another benefit to Air Roasting is consistency - typical roasters rely upon roasting “to colour“ which returns a high degree of variance from batch to batch. The Air Roasters rely upon exact metrics such as temperature and time with specific profiles that have been developed by our Q Grader, a certified coffee professional, to suit the particular bean. An exact science rather than guess work.

 

 

Protecting the Environment

We all have to recognise and assess our individual impact upon the environment. Our new Air Roaster uses 30% less energy than a typical roaster and reduces wasted heat by recirculating it in a fully enclosed system. We have a catalytic converter to ensure that harmful gases released are reduced by around 96%. Committing further to minimise our impact on the planet we have moved our packaging to 100% curb-side recyclable. This new packaging still protects that fresh roasted taste.

 

 

OUR BEANS are amongst the freshest on the market, being roasted to stock in the UK as opposed to importing roasted beans on a much longer timescale. Our Neotech roaster is more environmentally friendly, energy efficient and better than conventional drum roasters in that it can roast in specific small batches with unique roasting profiles that are able to compensate product variations and unfold the unique flavour of each individual coffee blend whilst reducing wasted heat by recirculating in the fully enclosed system.

Our range of Ethical coffees support our partnership with Toybox, who we aim to donate £100,000 over a period of ten years, having donated £50,000 in the last 5 years. This enabled Toybox to provide the resources needed for the street outreach team throughout 2020, conducting 240 visits to children in the most high-risk areas in Guatemala City as well as deliver 100 children across the city a warm and nutritious meal each week. Your continued support of Kingdom Coffee means that we can fund vital projects like this so thank you very much!