The Karogoto Factory is Located at 1,708 meters above sea level in Nyeri County, Kenya. The Factory serves as the primary processing facility for the Tekangu Farmers Cooperative. As the cooperative's largest producer, it processes cherries from approximately 1,800 smallholder farmers.
The name "Tekangu" is derived from the initials of three factories: Tegu, Karogoto, and Ngunguru. Taking advantage of the region's fertile clay loam soil, farmers cultivate varieties including SL28, SL34, Batian, and Ruiru 11. The cooperative has his own agronomist to support their farmer members on better agricultural practices, providing seedling of coffee and native trees. Ensuring quality and sustainability.
Coffee cherries are picked by hand and deliver to the Karagoto factory were the undergo a color selection ensuring only ripe cherries enter the next step then the skin is removed, seeds are fermented with constant checks after a wash process in chanels removing light density seed and removing fermented mucilage (fruit flesh) , next slow sun dry in rise African beds, after that a hand selection of the dry coffee seed is done before coffee is prepare for exportation.
The AA refers to the classification of bean size, once the last protective layer of the coffee seed is remove, the coffee beans are sorted using screens that are measured in 1/64 inch increments. AA refers to green coffee seeds retained by a screen with round perforation of 18/64 and 17/64 inch. coffees in this classification get premium prices.