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The Rutuma Cooperative Society operates several factories around the southern slopes of Mount Kenya, with Ruthagati being one of them. Smallholder farmers who deliver ripe cherries to the Ruthagathi factory typically grow SL-28, SL-34, Batian, and Ruiru 11 varieties. The rich volcanic soil in this area provides an abundance of nutrients to the coffee, which contributes complex, juicy flavours to the cup. During harvest, smallholders in the area deliver ripe cherries to the factory. This coffee gets sorted and soaked (first wash) before the skin and pulp are removed using a traditional depulper before they undergo a period of overnight fermentation. Fresh water from the Keremia stream is then used to wash the coffees again before drying. In the final step, the coffees are placed on raised beds under the sun where they are constantly being sorted and rotated during the drying process. The resulting flavour in this cup is densely sweet, complex, and sparkly.

This coffee hails from Coordinadora Estatal de Productores de Café del Estado de Oaxaca (CEPCO). 

Imagine starting at sea level in the popular Mexican beach destination of Puerto Escondido and traveling along progressively steeper and curvier roads through villages, where the local population still wears traditional indigenous clothing, eventually arriving at a lush tropical forest intercropped with coffee, bananas, corn, beans, fruit trees, and views of the Pacific Ocean in the distance below. This is the Oaxacan coffee growing region where the Sierra Madre del Sur coastal mountain range is peppered with small family farms, each consisting of just a few acres of land. Nearly forty percent of the producers are women who rely on coffee income to support their families. Producers here continue to identify with their indigenous roots using organic practices to manage their farms and protect their environment. They harvest cherries, then depulp, ferment, wash, and dry the coffee using their own micro-mills. While these producers are their own architects, designing farm management and post-harvest solutions to fit their needs, they need strong alliances to bring their coffee to the international market and earn fair prices. In Oaxaca, more than 4,000 producers from 134 communities and 45 producer associations have consolidated their efforts into an umbrella cooperative called Coordinadora Estatal de Productores de Café del Estado de Oaxaca (CEPCO), which carries out activities that are often overlooked but crucial to small producers. For example, CEPCO has helped producers gain access to credit and certifications. CEPCO has also led the leaf rust recovery effort, helping thousands of producers renovate their farms and increase their production of organic fertilizers. Investments for basic infrastructure needs, like road improvements, establishing local warehouses, and dry-mill facilities are also coordinated through CEPCO. Their collective efforts have established higher prices and more producer income to support best agricultural practices and an improved livelihood.

This coffee Produced by Maximiliano Garcia and his wife Esperanza Armijos hails from Garmas farm in the El Huabo region of Peru. 

Maximiliano Garcia and his wife Esperanza are first-generation producers who grow coffee on their farm named Garmas in the village of El Huabo, San Ignacio. The farm has separated plots of Caturra,Catuai, Bourbon, Marsellesa, Parainema and Geisha. It was after saving money working for a coffee cooperative that they were able to acquire their own piece of land. Through his experience, Maximiliano was able to learn different aspect of farming which now inform how he runs his farm. They have since became highly respected producers who stand out for their attention to detail, passion, and dedication and their farm is often used as a model.

This coffee is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the Aricha coffee mill located in the Yirgacheffe district of the Gedeo Zone within the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Regional State, Ethiopia. The Gedeo region is named after the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. The Aricha mill is owned and operated by Cherab na Betesebu and his family. The Aricha mill receives ripe cherries from 650 small coffee farmers. Coffee producers deliver their ripe cherries to the Aricha coffee mill station where the cherries are sorted and then placed on raised drying beds in thin layers. The cherries are turned every 2 to 3 hours in the first few days to avoid over-fermentation and mold growth. Depending on weather, 4 to 6 weeks later the beans are de-hulled and transported in parchment to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to be milled and bagged prior to export.