Kamoini is one of several coffees we picked up from Othaya Farmer's Cooperative Society (FCS), an FCS that includes an impressive amount of wet mills, 18 in all, dating back to the late 1950s. Kamoini Factory sits at 1825 meters above sea level, right along the Ichamama River, which is fed from the Karima forest above. "Factories" are essentially small washing stations aligned with a particular "society" in Kenya, what we would call a "cooperative". We return to the societies who seem to regularly produce some of the best Kenya coffees, and each year we come across societies that are new to us as well. Being one of the older Kenya FCS, we are well aware of the quality coming out of Othaya, and have had the good fortune to buy a few stellar lots the past two years. It was purchased direct, not through the Kenya auction system, so we could avoid the risk of losing it. To do this we pay a price that is higher than what the top auction bid might be, but it means we get the exact lot we want. This is an AA outturn, which means the beans are screened to separate out the largest coffee that measure 17-19 1/64ths of an inch. It's not always a sign of superior cup quality, but are generally given extra care in the dry milling phase and commands a much higher price.

Kenya: Kirinyaga Nguguini, Washed