Kenya: Kiriga, AA

Blackcurrant and green apples up front slip into dark chocolate on the finish, with a delicate molasses edge to the aftertaste of this classic cup. 

We have been buying Kenyan coffee from Kiriga for over a decade – it is easily one of our favourite producer relationships and the coffees from this farm get Team Ozone excited every time they come back into season. We genuinely believe that they produce some of the best Kenyan coffee money can buy. This year we will have three lots of single origin Washed Kenyan coffee on sale from the Kiriga Estate: an AA, an AB, and a PB.

Kiriga Estate: The Perfect Place To Grow Coffee  

Kiriga is located in the Central Province of Kenya, towards the south-west corner of the country. It is roughly 5km from the nearby industrial hub of Thika town, and 50km north-east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The estate sits on the very edge of Muranga county, separated from the bordering Kiambu county by the Chania river, which 4km downstream forms the famous Chania and Thika Fourteen Falls, a popular tourist destination named for the 14 distinct waterfalls cascading from this broad section of the river. The river is a vital water source for the estate, both for crop irrigation and the wet mill. The 130-acre Kiriga estate sits at 1,550 to 1,650 metres above sea level and has roughly 54 hectares currently producing coffee.   

What Is AA Grade Coffee?  

The vast majority of this land is planted with the highly prized SL28 varietal, alongside 2 hectares of Ruiru 11, 1 field of Batian, and a sprinkling of K7. All varieties of coffee vary in size from bean to bean, so buyers have historically categorised lots by bean size, considering the very biggest beans the highest quality. This sizing is done by passing the coffee through sorting screens (picture layers of flat colanders with decreasing holes on each level) that catch the corresponding circumference coffee as they are shaken through. In most countries the screens are stratified by 1/64th of an inch sizes, so a screen 18+ indicates that all beans are 18/64ths of an inch or bigger. In Kenya these screen sizes are named. Kenya AA coffee stops at screens 17 and 18 (roughly 15-20% of the crop, getting the highest prices), Kenya AB coffee stops at screens 15 and 16 (another 40% or so of the coffee produced, a bit cheaper), any beans below screen 15 are C (typically going to Commodity lots, however we’ve had some delicious C grade coffee from Kiriga in previous years!). You’ll also see PB (peaberry) which is a bit different again and usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of the small pea-like beans lets them pass through the holes of a screen easily.  

The Gakunga Family Heritage  

Kiriga was first planted in approximately 1954 by colonial settlers. At that time, a short way down the Kigio Road, a young Aloysius Gakunga was helping his father (Senior Chief for the larger Muranga county, Ndungíu Kagori) plant some of the first coffee seedlings in Gaitegi village, Muranga Location 1 (Loco One). As Aloysius got older, he would ride his bicycle past the now well-established coffee plantations and promise himself that one day he would own one himself. He realised this dream in 1976 when he took over Kiriga. Before he passed away in 2014, he passed on his estate and his love of coffee to his eldest son Brian. According to Kikuyu cultural naming systems, Brian is named after Mr Aloysius Gakunga's father, his grandfather, the man who took his son along to help plant trees all those years ago and pioneer coffee in the area.  

Dr Brian Ndungíu Gakunga is a well-respected and prominent man in Kenyan coffee circles, his influence in the realm of high-quality single origin Kenyan coffee stretches well beyond the boundaries of Kiriga. His achievements are abundant, including: being a founding member and former long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Kenya Coffee Producers Association, a Board Member and Chairman of the Transitional Exchange Committee at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, and founding Chairman of the Africa Coffee Farmers' Network. Be sure to check out Brian’s Producer Story for more detail on the work done at these institutions.  

Staffing At Kiriga Estate

In recent years, many estate farms near to Kiriga have gradually been sold off for the land to be redeveloped as housing estates. While this does present a challenge for the future, in the short term Brian has found a silver lining in there being less competition with neighbouring farms for skilled pickers. Fewer local farms mean more availability of the high-demand experienced workers for the harvest seasons. At Kiriga, the staff talk about having a “Kiriga Family” – up to 180 people at the busiest times of year. 30% of their workforce is made up of families who live on the estate itself year-round, the remaining staff are local smallholder farmers who commute to work when needed and depend on the estate for essential income. Some smallholder farmers who work for Kiriga have been part of the team since 1976 and will proudly tell you they have no desire to work anywhere else. The furthest afield travel an impressive 10km daily to get to work, even passing other closer estates on their commute, for the privilege of being part of Kiriga’s team.  

Every Detail Is Important 

 Absolutely everything on the farm is run by the estate staff, with planning, decisions and operations overseen on a factory level. Around the year this includes a hands-on approach to pruning, weed control, nutrition, irrigation, basin digging, disease control, infilling, mulching, and planting. The estate nursery and wet mill are similarly run, with all factors efficiently run to the highest quality on-site. This coffee was processed at Kiriga’s wet mill using the traditional Kenyan Washed method. A double fermentation and extended soaking period draws out the bright acidity and cup clarity that Washed Kenyan coffee is most famous for. After drying on African raised beds, the estate delivers both parchment coffee (the Washed process coffee still in its parchment layer) and Mbuni (Natural process coffee dried in the cherry) to the commercial dry mill for milling and grading before sale at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange or through direct channels.  

• Country: Kenya
• Region: Central Province
• District: Muranga
• Constituency: Gatanga
• Nearest town: Thika
• Estate: Kiriga
• Size: 51 hectares
• Producer: Dr. Brian Gakunga
• Altitude: 1,550–1,650 m.a.s.l.
• Varietals: SL28 & SL34
• Size grading: AA
• Processing method: Washed
• GPS coordinates: 1°00'16.5"S 37°01'47.6"E

Medium
Roasted with a quick, lively approach to keep Kiriga’s signature blackcurrant-and-apple brightness clear and juicy, while developing just far enough for a creamy sweetness and a dark-chocolate finish. We’re aiming for a balanced cup that feels vibrant and clean - developed, but not heavy - so the flavour stays fruit-led rather than roast-led.

Tasting notes: Blackcurrant, green apple, dark chocolate.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean Cup: 6/8 
• Sweetness: 6.5/8 
• Acidity: 6.5/8 
• Mouthfeel: 6/8 
• Flavour: 6.5/8 
• Aftertaste: 6/8 
• Balance: 6/8 
• Overall: 6.5/8 
• Correction: +36 
• Total: 87/100 

If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post "What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?"