This coffee's story

About POMA

POMA Coffee Research is an independent coffee research and cultivation company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their work sits somewhere between science and the everyday reality of growing coffee: researching how coffee plants respond to their environment and turning those findings into practical methods producers can actually use.

Through climate-controlled greenhouse trials in Denmark and field research with partner farms around the world, POMA studies ways to improve resilience, productivity and cup quality, particularly as coffee-growing conditions continue to change. What makes their approach interesting is that the research doesn’t end in the lab. Every project moves from observation and controlled experimentation to validation under real farming conditions, with the goal of creating knowledge that can genuinely be applied at origin.

Alongside their research, POMA works with coffees produced through this network, including this lot from Kamoini in Kenya, connecting the science of coffee cultivation with what eventually ends up in the cup.

About this coffee

Kamoini wetmill is part of Othaya Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited, one of a few washing stations or “factories” that form the coop group based in the heartland of Kukuyu territory, Nyeri. The mill processes an average of 270,000kg of coffee cherries per year sourced from 719 farmers. The total farmed area is 310.9 acres with individual trees yielding between 5 and 10kg of cherries per season. The Othaya Farmers Co-op is one of the largest Co-ops in all of Kenya having 18 wet mills under its umbrella.Nyeri County has cool temperatures and fertile central highlands, lying between the Eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range, which forms part of the Eastern end of the Great Rift Valley, and the Western slopes of Mt. Kenya. Nyeri town (county headquarters) acts as a destination for those visiting Aberdare National Park and Mt. Kenya. Set in Kamoini village, this station was built in 1987 along River Ichamama whose source is Karima forest. The main harvesting season is one which runs from October to December. The mill is on latitude 00.55324° South and longitude 036.97646° East.

The cooperative reinvests in its farmers, offering pre-financing for school fees, farm inputs, and emergency needs from each year's harvest. The long-term vision centres on increasing production through training, Good Agricultural Practice seminars, and ensuring producers receive some of the highest returns for their coffee. Mill managers and operators pursue ongoing education from across the country. Kamoini has also taken steps toward environmental stewardship, routing wastewater into soak pits set well away from the river source.

Processing

After harvest, the ripe coffee cherries are pulped to remove the outer fruit before undergoing a controlled fermentation for 18–24 hours. Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is thoroughly washed in washing channels to remove the remaining mucilage from the beans.

The washed parchment is then spread out on raised tables and sun-dried for 12–16 days. During this time, the coffee gradually loses moisture until it reaches the desired level for storage and further processing.

Once fully dried, the parchment coffee is transported to the dry mill, where the protective parchment layer is removed. The coffee is then hulled and graded before being transferred to a secure warehouse, where it is stored until it is ready for export.