Our Process
Six controlled steps, one farm. We have the space and the people to take time with every lot rather than rushing the harvest through a central co-op.
Every step happens on Acacia. Every lot is tracked from the block it grew on to the bag it ships in.
Only ripe red cherries. Pickers walk each block multiple times across the season so under-ripe and over-ripe cherries stay on the tree. On arrival every batch is floated to remove defects before it touches the mill.
Cherries are de-pulped within hours of picking using water from two natural springs above the mill. Skin and pulp are weighed and sent back to the fields as compost. Nothing is wasted.
Washed lots ferment for 24 to 36 hours, then are washed and density sorted in graded channels. Naturals skip this step and go straight to drying. Carbonic lots ferment whole-cherry in sealed tanks for 72 to 96 hours.
Twelve to eighteen days under shade cloth, turned by hand four times a day. We dry to 11 percent moisture, no faster, no slower. Slow drying is the difference between a clean cup and one that fades.
Parchment is rested for at least 30 days, then hulled, screened by size, density-sorted and optically scanned. Peaberry is separated. A final hand-sort removes any remaining defects.
Every lot is cupped on the SCA scale by our team before bagging. Lots that score under 82 are downgraded. Approved lots are bagged in 60kg jute with GrainPro inner liners and tagged with block, variety, process and harvest date.
The process only works because of where we grow. Acacia Valley sits on the eastern slopes of an ancient caldera, between 1,600 and 1,900 metres. Deep volcanic soil, a bimodal rainfall pattern and cold highland nights give coffee time to develop slowly and ripen evenly.
The estate covers 420 hectares. Around 320 are planted to coffee, split across blocks by altitude and variety. The remainder is shade trees, riparian strips and indigenous forest, all of which feed back into the cup.
The backbone of highland East African specialty coffee. Drought resistant, with a classic blackcurrant and citrus cup profile. Planted around 1,800 metres.
Soft and sweet in the cup with good body. On the estate since the first trees went in the ground in 1960. Planted between 1,600 and 1,750 metres.
A handful of blocks are planted to local heirloom selections kept alive by the estate. Small volumes, experimental lots only, reserved for specialty buyers.
The process is only useful if we can prove it. Every lot ships with full block-to-bag documentation.
Every bag carries the block it came from, the variety, the process and the harvest date.
Every lot has a written SCA cupping report and defect count attached before it leaves the warehouse.
Origin certificates, phytosanitary documentation and packing lists travel with every shipment to the export port.
Roasters who source from us are welcome on the farm during harvest. Walk the blocks, taste the lots, meet the people.
Roaster and importer visits welcome between August and March. Get in touch in advance so we can plan pickup from the nearest city and a cupping session on-site.