Welcome to the February 2025 edition of For The Love of Coffee, a blog exclusively for the employees of Vienna Coffee Company.
I know, I know…. the February Spotlight coffee has a funny name, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious coffee! The coffee’s unusual name comes from the name of the wet mill where the coffee is processed. The wet mill is named for the Ichamama River which flows near enough to the mill to be a water source used for processing the coffee. The Ichamama wet mill is one of nineteen washing stations that make up the Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society and serves over 780 local coffee farmers living in the villages and towns surrounding it.
Located north of the country’s capital of Nairobi, the Ichamama wet mill lies peacefully between the base of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Ranges, where the red volcanic soil in this famous coffee-growing region results in thick and sweet coffee fruit. The mill itself is located in the town of Othaya, in Nyeri County, Ethiopia.
This exceptional coffee is grown at an elevation of 1,741 MASL (meters above sea level) and is hand-picked by local workers. The freshly picked coffee cherries are then immediately delivered to the Ichamama wet mill where they are hand-sorted, weighed, pulped, washed, and dried. The coffee is then delivered to the dry mill for milling, grading, and bagging.
Picked cherries are hand-sorted to select only the best, most developed coffee to go to the drying beds.
Raised drying beds are meticulously tended and the coffee beans regularly turned to ensure even drying.
It takes many hands, and constant attention to ensure that the coffee is up to the high standards of the Cooperative.
Once the coffee has been dried to exact moisture content standards it is bagged for shipment and makes its ocean voyage to New York where it arrives at our US importing partner, Royal Coffee. We purchase the coffee from Royal and receive it at our warehouse in Maryville where it is expertly roasted, allowed to rest for 24-48 hours, and then tasted in our Quality Control Lab to determine body, acidity, and tasting notes. This outstanding Kenya coffee features a bright, sweet acidity, a full body, and tasting notes of Praline, Black Tea, and Pear. You will each receive a 4 oz sample of this delicious coffee to take home and prepare any way you choose to enjoy it.
Thank you everyone for all you do to make Vienna Coffee a success! From our amazing Roastery Team to our Marketing and Social Media, to our awesome Kitchen staff and incredibly talented Baristas. Each of you contributes to the “Great Adventure” that we offer our customers each and every day.
Matt