Blackcurrant. Candied Lemon. Black Tea.
Country: Kenya
Region: Nyeri County, Central Region
Altitude: 1,650 ~ 1,800 masl
Variety: SL28 & SL34
Processing: Washed
Producer : Aguthi Farmer's Co-operative Society
About Thageini Wet Mill
The Thageini wet mill is one of four mills operated by the Aguthi Farmer’s Cooperative Society. It is the second largest mill in terms of member producers, with
around 350 men and 100 women members, and the Aguthi Farmer’s Co-operative
Society has around 2000 members total. The Society provides training for their
members on techniques for farm management, picking, sorting and agronomic
techniques. They hold workshops for members to meet and learn from each other
and provide specific advice to producers on their farm where possible.
In the time we have worked with Thageini, Project Origin has engaged a number of projects focused on community and infrastructure development. In 2018,
Thageini provided Project Origin with a range of exceptional washed coffees,
and it was then that we decided to invest in the infrastructure at this station to
create new experiences from this farm, while also having access to further the
education of this team. In 2019 we began setting up carbonic maceration infrastructure with the Aguthi Farmer’s Co-operative Society at Thageini mill, and we
also funded the construction of new drying beds to further improve their facilities
and, resultantly, coffee quality.
The Aguthi Farmer’s Co-operative Society demonstrates values that align with
ours: Quality, Sustrainability and Community, through their focus on community
development and the improvement of their members’ coffees. Project Origin and
this Society have worked together since 2017 to further implement these values
to bring you another wonderful taste of Kenya.
About Project Origin
Project Origin is a company that uses green coffee beans to empower people, so together we can change the world we see.
Throughout our history we have met hundreds of extraordinary people from all over the world. We have supplied roasters and baristas with a substantial variety of coffees, invested in dozens of community projects that improve the livelihoods of individuals and communities, and developed new processing techniques that can both build better economic sustainability for producers and offer consumers a whole new range of flavour experiences. All of these accomplishments have been possible thanks to the heart and mind of our founder, Saša Šestić, and by how he responded to that question.
“Can you try a sample of my family’s coffee?” When Pathy Kasiviswanathan first visited Saša at the ONA headquarters in 2010, he simply wanted a review on his family’s coffees to help him begin a wholesale trade of green beans in Australia. Thalanar Estate is a coffee producing farm in South India that sold its beans as a commodity product to the local mill, meaning the beans were mixed with a range of other green beans from other farms, and no-one really knew where it ended up. Saša agreed to try the samples, and when he did, he considered the coffees to taste perhaps better than the Indian coffee he was currently using. This was a positive tasting – but to Saša’s surprise, Pathy had never before tasted these coffees himself! In fact, no one at the farm knew what it was they were producing. Saša and ONA coffee were already buying coffees directly from some producers, but this opportunity saw the potential to invest in more than direct trade green beans.
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