Kenya Kiawamururu NH

Natural processing at Kiawamururu Washing Station follows the traditional Ethiopian-style dry process, adapted to Kenya's climate and quality standards. Since Kenyan factories are primarily built for washed coffees, natural lots are produced in small volumes with careful selection and monitoring.
Step 1. Cherry selection
Only fully ripe, deep-red cherries are hand-picked by smallholder farmers. Unripe, overripe, or damaged cherries are removed before processing.
Step 2. Sorting
At the washing station, cherries are hand-sorted again. Some producers also use flotation tanks—healthy, dense cherries sink, while low-density "floaters" are removed.
Step 3. Drying on raised beds
Unlike washed processing, the skin and fruit remain intact.
The whole cherries are spread in a thin layer on African raised beds, where they:
- dry under the sun for approximately 20–30 days (depending on weather),
- are turned several times a day for even drying,
- are covered during the hottest midday hours to prevent overheating,
- protected at night or during rain with plastic sheets or moved under cover to avoid moisture uptake.
The goal is to reduce the moisture content gradually to about 10–12%.
Step 4. Resting
Once dry, the cherries are stored for several weeks in a well-ventilated warehouse. This resting period allows moisture to stabilize throughout the beans before milling.
Step 5. Dry milling
After resting, the dried fruit and parchment are mechanically removed. The beans are then:
cleaned,
sorted by size and density,
and finally hand-sorted to remove defects.