Kenya Nyeri Ruarai Peaberry

The Ruarai Coffee Factory gets its name from the nearby Ruarai river that flows just below the mill. This is part of Gakindu town, known for having one of the oldest livestock markets in Nyeri, dating back to the 17th Century. It's also a hub for rural farmers, many of whom are aligned with cooperative "Factories" in the area, essentially small washing stations that operate under a cooperative umbrella. In this case, Ruarai is aligned with Ruthaka Farmer's Cooperative Society ("FCS"), whose membership exceeds 600 small scale farmers. While we buy coffee from many other Factories in this area, this is the first year we've purchased from Ruarai. This peaberry outturn was shown to us on a Kenya trip earlier this year. It stood out as being juicy and bright, and we knew we wanted to buy it right away. The only downside was, it's only 6 bags! Peaberries occur when a coffee cherry only produces a single round seed, instead of the typical pair of seeds that have one flat side, and one round. They are thought to be high density seeds, with potential for fruitier flavors than their flat bean counterparts. We didn't cup their "flat bean" coffee (AA, and AB), but couldn't pass up this tiny microlot.