Kenya Karogoto AB Washed

Karogoto Factory is part of the New Tekangu Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS) in Nyeri County, Kenya. It sits at 1,708 meters above sea level and is the largest factory in terms of volume within the cooperative. The name "Tekangu" is an acronym combining the original three factories managed by the cooperative: Tegu, Karogoto, and Ngunguru.

•  Harvest & Post-Harvest

The factory has approximately 1,800 active smallholder farmers who deliver their cherries there, growing coffee in rich clay loam soils. The main varieties cultivated are SL28, SL34, Batian, and Ruiru 11. The area experiences an average annual temperature of 20.5°C and about 1,400mm of rainfall per year. Flowering typically occurs between February and April, with the main harvest running from October to January. Shipments usually take place between March and April.

At Karogoto, careful cherry sorting is practiced to ensure only ripe cherries are pulped. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight in tanks before being washed, graded (into P1, P2, P3, and P lights), and then dried on raised beds for 10 to 16 days. The factory is gradually replacing traditional wooden drying tables with more durable metallic ones to improve efficiency.

Quality standards are closely monitored. The factory manager, Ephraim, oversees each stage of processing—from cherry intake to the dispatch of parchment for milling—to maintain high quality and consistency.