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Product Info
About the Roast
Roast will be sent out within a week of roasting. Next roast is the coming weekend (cut off on Friday 6pm) and will be sent out the following week's Monday. *Check our homepage for exact next roast date!
We fell in love with Kenya's coffee a long time ago, and it was perhaps the one that drew us into the specialty coffee industry. We had to have a Kenyan for nostalgia's sake - and this one gives us great joy to present the goodness of Kenya's coffee in its region.
Roasted for: Filter and Espresso (Omni)
Body: Medium
Acidity: Low-Medium
Sweetness: High
Roast level: Medium
Tasting notes: Clean, light mouthfeel,Currants, Grapefruit, Plum, Sugarcane
About the beans
Mill: Gikanda Farmer Cooperative
Region: Karatina, Nyeri
Varietal: SL 28, SL34, Ruiru 11 and Batian
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,600 - 1900 maslWhen harvest time arrives, each producer will carefully handpick the coffee, selecting only the ripe cherries. Kenya typically has two crops which include an early, or fly crop, harvested from June to August and the main or late crop, which is harvested from October to March, mainly from farms at higher altitudes. As soon as producers finish picking their cherries, they are bagged and transported to the wet mill on the same day. The cherries are then de-pulped to remove the exterior fruit. The remaining parchment is fermented in tanks filled with water from the local Ragati River. Fermentation allows for the breakdown of the exterior mucilage.
Once complete, the coffee is then spread evenly on raised beds to dry in the open sun. After drying is finished, the coffee is hulled by the Highlands Coffee Company and bagged to be prepared for export. The coffee will either be sold directly or at the Nairobi Coffee Auction.
This AA lot, an indication of screen size, although not an indication of cup quality, lends a more juicy profile than their smaller counterparts.
The AA, AB and other grades used to classify lots in Kenya are an indication of screen size only. They are not an indication of cup quality. The AA grade in Kenya is equivalent to screen size 17 or 18 (17/64 or 18/64 of an inch) used at other origins. AA grades often command higher prices at auction though this grade is no indication of cup quality and an AB lot from a better farm may cup better.
Gichatha-ini Wet Mill
The Nyeri county is one of the most well-known amongst the various coffee-producing regions in Kenya. This area is nestled between the Mt. Kenya and Aberdare ranges, just east of the Great Rift Valley. The white peaks of Mt. Kenya shine brightly throughout the Nyeri county, so much so that the Kikuyu, a large ethnic group in Kenya, call the peak the ‘Mountain of Whiteness.’ With rich, red volcanic soils, abundant rainfall and delicate but warm temperatures – Nyeri is an ideal place for coffee production.
Situated on the western slopes of Mt. Kenya, the Gichatha-ini Factory, or wet mill, is one of three mills working with smallholder producers from the Gikanda Farmers’ Cooperative Society. Roughly 770 active members contribute coffee to the Factory from their small plots of 1 hectare or less. A representative from the Factory sits on the Gikanda Management Committee in order to aid with decision-making surrounding production, processing, and the overall wellbeing of the producers and community.
Conservation is important at the Gichathaini Factory, especially regarding water usage. The water used from the Ragati River is transported via gravity-fed channels to reduce environmental impact. During processing, the water is re-circulated to prevent overextraction of river water. After processing is complete, the water is transferred to soak pits, away from drinking water sources to prevent contamination. This allows for the water to purify naturally before being re-introduced into the system.
VarietalsRuiru 11 – Developed by the Coffee Research Institute in the 1960s after the outbreak of Coffee Leaf Rust and Coffee Berry Disease. These trees were not only disease-tolerant, but also high-yielding, producing cherries after just 1.5 years.
SL 28 – Scott Agricultural Laboratories created this varietal in 1931 to combat the stresses caused by drought in Kenya incurred by coffee producers. With deep roots, this varietal was better able to locate moisture in the water table and more resistant to periods of low precipitation.
SL 34 – Scott Agricultural Laboratories developed this varietal from the French Bourbon in the late 1930s in Kenya. Also, a drought tolerant varietal, the SL 34 additionally produced larger cherries with a shorter growing period.
Batian – Developed by the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya, this varietal was named after one of the highest peaks on Mt. Kenya. This is a newer varietal, only created in 2010, and exhibits resistance to Coffee Berry Disease and Leaf Rust whilst maintaining exceptional quality and yield.