Baraka: A Kenyan Coffee From Chepsangor Women in Coffee, Chepsangor Hills Estate

What Is Baraka Coffee?

Baraka is a Kenyan coffee produced by the Chepsangor Women in Coffee group, and Chepsangor Hills Estate in the Nandi Hills region of Western Kenya.

Most specialty coffee drinkers know Kenyan coffees through a classic washed profile: bright acidity, blackcurrant, and citrus. In Chepsangor Hills, the women behind Baraka chose a less common, more controlled approach to shape a different expression of Kenyan coffee. Three years into production, that choice has resulted in a coffee with softer acidity, brown sugar sweetness, and plum.

We care about Baraka for the cup, but even more for the decision behind it: the women in Chepsangor choosing a new approach within their first few harvests and executing it well.

The Women Behind Baraka

 

Baraka begins with Dr. Rosebella Lang’at. Before moving to Chepsangor, her PhD research on market information systems, had shown her how gaps in training and information often keep women on the fringes of agriculture. When she moved to Chepsangor in 2016 to replant a coffee farm, she found that many women in the area, including her neighbors, relied on charcoal-making and home brewing for income. 

Motivated to work with the women from a practical and principled perspective, she began by spending time with women in Chepsangor, listening in homes and in group meetings, so her approach stayed grounded in what they actually needed. Coffee farming kept coming up as a suitable way forward.

There was an immediate constraint. In Chepsangor, and within the Nandi community, land ownership typically sits with men, so women could not plant coffee without access to land.

Rosebella enlisted some men who supported the effort, whom she calls “We The Men,” to negotiate with the husbands so small parcels could be set aside for their wives to plant coffee. That is how the women farmers behind Baraka went from zero to forty seedlings, and up to as many as 1500 trees today, on plots ranging from roughly three tennis courts to just over a football field.

That is how Esther Bett and forty-two other women joined Dr. Lang’at and her Chepsangor Hills Estate. They began learning the details that decide coffee quality on the farm, long before processing. Spacing trees correctly. Pruning tree branches to promote manageable growth. Feeding the soil and at harvest, picking only ripe cherries.

In 2022, they had their first harvest. Coffee trees typically take two to three years to begin yielding fruit, so those early pickings were as much a test as they were a milestone. Since then, roughly 100 women have registered under what is now known as Chepsangor Women in Coffee. With each harvest, their confidence has grown, along with their willingness to choose methods that are less common in Kenya, including anaerobic fermentation. Together, these women have learnt how to grow coffee to the point of adopting new processing methods, like anaerobic fermentation, considered experimental, staking their reputation on it. This is how Baraka came to be.

Why Does Baraka Taste Different From Most Kenyan Coffees?

 

Baraka is different because it uses an anaerobic washed fermentation with a Lactobacillus inoculation, which shifts the cup toward sweeter, rounder flavors while staying clean and precise. You’ll still recognize it as Kenyan coffee, but with softer perceived acidity and more brown sugar and plum.

Most Kenyan coffees follow a more conventional washed pathway. Cherries are pulped (fruit pulp removed from the coffee cherry to release the seeds), fermented in open tanks, then fully washed to remove mucilage (the sticky, sugar-rich layer on the coffee seeds). The result is the profile many specialty drinkers expect from Kenya: bright acidity, clean, crisp cup. his is the process Kenya’s infrastructure has supported for decades, especially for smallholder production.

Anaerobic fermentation changes the conditions around that same step. With oxygen limited and fermentation time fixed, the process tends to produce a rounder acidity and more fruit-forward aromatics, which can make sweetness feel more pronounced. Depending on the protocol, anaerobic lots can also tilt into boozy or overly funky notes, particularly for natural anaerobic ferments. Baraka is intentionally not that. For Baraka, after harvesting, coffee cherries are pulped, then the coffee is fermented in a tank for 12 hours in an oxygen-deprived environment. A Lactobacillus culture is added to guide the fermentation toward a sweeter, smoother expression that still reads as washed. 

Essentially, the anaerobic fermentation helps the cup feel sweeter and rounder, without turning “funky.”

What It’s Like Being With Chepsangor Women in Coffee 

October 10 is circled on the calendar in Chepsangor. The women call it 10/10, a day to take stock of what has grown since the early years. The first one was in 2022, after the first harvest. 

We made it to the 2025 event. 

One by one, each woman stood and said how many coffee trees she had to her name, from Dr R. to our team members. Some said zero. Others said tens, hundreds, even 1,500. No number was too small to be spoken out loud. The point wasn’t comparison but proof of growth.

What Baraka Means

It’s also a metaphor for the blessing they consider with each tree and the fruit it yields, season after season. It’s why we named the coffee, Baraka, Swahili for blessings. 

Later, each woman brought a handful of coffee cherries and added them to a collection point. Each fruit was a symbol of the blessings received, and with each handful came their intentions: that the coffee would travel well, and that their work would be tasted far beyond Chepsangor: in Nairobi, New York, Boston, Tokyo, Stockholm and beyond. 

Baraka is our way of honoring that wish, bringing the coffee to Boston in bags and in guided tastings.

How We Share Baraka Through Our Coffee Tastings

 

Back in Boston, that becomes very practical. We share Baraka in small tastings and in bags you can brew at home.

Each tasting is 90 minutes and includes a guided tasting of three to four Kenyan coffees side-by-side. We explain how coffee grows, how processing changes flavor, and the farmers behind each lot. Because the tasting is small, guests can ask questions and leave with a clearer understanding of what they like and why. When we pour Baraka, we also share the story of Chepsangor Women in Coffee. 

The smoothness and sweetness of the coffee, tasted black, has made it a crowd favorite, even among non-avid coffee drinkers.

We may be the ones pouring the coffee, but the cup begins with the producers and the care taken at processing.

 

Experience Baraka For Yourself

You can experience Baraka in the way that fits you best.

• Buy a bag to brew at home
• Join a guided tasting to try Baraka side by side with other Kenyan coffees
• Visit a pop-up to sample and learn more in person

Sign up on our website for updates on tastings, pop-ups, and new releases. We offer free local delivery in Cambridge, Watertown, and Newton.

Baraka Coffee FAQs

What is Baraka coffee?

Baraka is a Kenyan coffee produced by the Chepsangor Women in Coffee group and processed using an anaerobic washed fermentation approach. It is designed to highlight sweetness and a smoother texture while staying clean in the cup.

How is Baraka processed?

After harvest, the cherries are pulped and the coffee is fermented for 12 hours in a sealed, low-oxygen tank with a Lactobacillus culture. The coffee is then washed and dried.

What makes Baraka different from most Kenyan coffees?

Most Kenyan coffees follow a classic washed process that emphasizes brightness and structure. Baraka uses a controlled anaerobic washed fermentation, which brings out more sweetness and a rounder mouthfeel while remaining precise and clean.

Is Baraka a “funky” anaerobic coffee?

No. Baraka is intentionally not a funky or boozy anaerobic coffee. The fermentation is guided to avoid heavy fermentation flavors and to keep the profile balanced and approachable.

What does Baraka taste like?

In the cup, Baraka leans sweet and smooth, with notes we experience as plum and brown sugar, and softer perceived acidity than many traditional washed Kenyan coffees.

Who produces Baraka?

Baraka is produced by Chepsangor Women in Coffee, a community-based group of women farmers in the Nandi region of Kenya who grow and process coffee while sharing training and best practices to improve quality and consistency.

Where is Chepsangor located, and what coffee varieties are grown there?

Chepsangor is in the Nandi region of Kenya, at elevations of approximately 1,700 to 2,000 meters above sea level. Varieties grown include SL28, Batian, and Ruiru 11.

Where can I try Baraka coffee?

Baraka is available by the bag online and at guided coffee tastings in Boston and the surrounding New England area. Samples are also offered at select pop-up events.