Details
Coffee Bio
Mukangu Factory sits in the Ruchu sublocation of Kangema, Murang'a County, one of Kenya's most historic coffee regions. It belongs to the Ruchu Gacharage Farmers Cooperative Society, which also includes the Ruona, Kahiga, Kamichee and Ruchu factories.
Established in the 1970s, Mukangu serves around 800 smallholders, most farming less than one hectare and often intercropping coffee with maize and beans. Red volcanic soils and two rainy seasons support two flowering cycles a year.
Cherries are hand-picked at peak ripeness and delivered daily. After sorting they are disc-pulped, fermented for 12–24 hours, washed clean of mucilage and sun-dried on raised beds to 10–12% moisture, then rested in conditioning bins before dry milling.
Coffee reached Kenya in 1893, and for more than a century it was sold through a government auction; since 2006 farmers have also been able to trade directly with international buyers.