Kenya Mtaro Natural - Filter Roast

COUNTRY - Kenya
REGION - Kiambu County
ALTITUDE - 1700 M.A.S.L
VARIETAL - SL 28, SL34, Batian, Ruiru 11
PROCESSING METHOD - Natural Process

Mtaro Coffee estate is run by Mr Waithaka, who oversees all activities within the estate. Together with other staff members they carry out duties such as weighing coffee, selection and grading of coffee and paying farmers.The farm employs around 300 workers both permanent and casual. Workers welfare is taken care of as a means of ensuring sustainable coffee production. Most workers and their families housed in the Estate are supplied with clean drinking water and have free access to medical and emergency services. The resident employees are provided with a nursery school for their children, vegetable gardens and other social welfare benefits like sports facilities.
The result is a secure friendly and conducive relationship between the employer, employees and neighbourhood.

NATURAL PROCESS
The ripe coffee cherries are hand picked and allowed to dry completely around the seed before being husked or hulled off. While historically this hulling was done by hand with a kind of mortar-and-pestle setup, today it’s done by machinery that can be finely calibrated.
While the coffee is drying the sugars are continually fermenting inside the cherry while there is enough moisture to feed the microorganisms. This can take up to 30 days on average.
Due to the long fermentations, natural processed coffees often display fruity or “pulpy” flavours, often described as “boozy” or “winey”; can also have strong nutty and/or chocolate characteristics, and typically has a heavier or syrupy body