The Farm Story
Thunguri wet mill is part of the Kibirigwi Farmers Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga, Kenya. Established in 1953, the society now counts nearly 6,900 members, most of them women, who farm an average of half an acre each. Together they cultivate over 1.7 million coffee trees across the region. At Thunguri, cherries are handpicked and pulped the same day, then fermented for 16–18 hours before being washed twice with fresh water from the Kangocho stream. The parchment is dried on raised beds until reaching the ideal moisture level. Each year, Thunguri processes 400,000–700,000 kilograms of cherry, contributing to the cooperative’s reputation for producing some of Kenya’s most vibrant, fruit-forward coffees. The rich volcanic soils and abundant rainfall from Mt. Kenya’s ecosystem provide the foundation for this quality, while the cooperative structure ensures both scale and sustainability for smallholder farmers.
