Drip bag – Kieni AB, Kenya

Place the drip bag on a cup or server.
Pour boiling water until the drip bag is half full.
Let the coffee bloom for 20 seconds.
Slowly fill the drip bag to the top with boiling water.
Wait until it almost drains.
Refill the drip bag to the top with boiling water.
Wait until the drip bag is completely drained.
Tear open drip bag at the top.
Enjoy your coffee!

The Kieni station is located in Nyeri County in Kenya’s central highlands at an altitude of 1,700 meters above sea level. It is run by the Mugaga Farmers' Cooperative Society, which brings together around 1,000 members, smallholder farmers working family plots on the region’s slopes and high plateaus.

Nyeri County lies between the eastern ridges of the Aberdare range and the western slopes of Mount Kenya. The area is known for cool temperatures and red volcanic soils, typical of Kenya’s central highlands. Slower cherry ripening at higher altitude leads to denser, harder beans — and that shows in the cup: bright acidity and a denser, syrupy body are long associated with coffees from Nyeri.

Kieni has implemented an electronic cherry‍-‍delivery weighing system. Each farmer receives a printed receipt showing the updated total delivered amount a small detail that says a lot about how the cooperative approaches its relationship with growers.