KENYA MUCAGARA Kirinyaga

MUCHAGARA FACTORY 
BARAGWI FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE SOCIETY

Background

Muchagara is named after a village in the western side of Kirinyaga District near Mt. Kenya and has been operational since 1959, making it the oldest wet processing centre in Kirinyaga.
Situated in a highly fertile area, the factory covers a substantial space near the local village. With more than 1500 members, 200 drying tables, several tiled fermentation tanks, and grading channels, it continues to produce remarkably expressive, high-quality coffees even though its infrastructure is not always in the best shape.
We look forward to maintaining and enhancing our relationship with this factory, knowing that ourpremiums contribute to the improvement of equipment.

Harvest and post-harvest

Flowering takes place between March and April, while the harvest runs from November to December.
The area’s average rainfall is 1250mm, with annual temperatures averaging between 15 - 24 degrees Celsius.
Cultivated at 1700 - 1800 metres above sea level, each lot consists of cherries grown by hundreds of smallholders from the area surrounding the washing station (factory). The team at the factory sort the cherries before they go into production.
The coffees are traditionally processed with dry fermentation, before being washed and graded in channels. These coffees are fully washed with fresh river water, and then sun-dried on raised beds.
The farmers mainly grow SL28 and SL34, but as with almost all Kenyan cooperative coffees, there can be a mix of everything. Other common cultivars are K7, Ruiru 11, and Batian.