Murang'a

Murang'a County sits in Kenya's central highlands between the Aberdare range and the slopes of Mount Kenya, in the Aberdare foothills that were among the earliest coffee-planted lands of the colonial era. The county's coffee history runs as long as Kenya's own — the central highlands were the engine of the industry from its beginnings in the 1890s.

Farms climb from roughly 1,280 m to nearly 2,000 m on red volcanic soils, with about 1,300 mm of rain a year falling in two seasons — the bimodal pattern that gives every central-Kenyan county its main crop and fly crop. The washing-station system defines production here as it does across the region: cooperative factories such as Kirimahiga in Kangema, established in 1998 and serving more than 700 smallholder members, and Mukangu, whose farms sit between about 1,650 and 1,850 m, are the documented names of the trade.

SL28 is the standout variety across the county's altitude range and produces its most distinctive lots — the characteristic blackcurrant acidity and dense body the variety is known for — with SL34 alongside and the disease-resistant Ruiru 11 and Batian planted widely. Processing is overwhelmingly fully washed.

In the cup, trade descriptions of Murang'a run to deep, winey, balanced profiles — the Aberdare foothills giving a slightly rounder frame than Nyeri's intensity, as a general tendency. As ever, every lot is specific to its factory and season.