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Product Info
About the Roast
Roast will be sent out immediately or after next roast (roast date may be before or after depending on current stocks, not more than 3 weeks after roast). Next roast is listed on our homepage (every two weeks).
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 always felt the need 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. This time, we present a more filter-forward roast, to highlight the goodness of this origin.
Roasted for: Filter
Body: Light-Medium
Acidity: Medium
Sweetness: High
Roast level: Medium
Tasting notes: Blackcurrants, Blood orange, CherriesAbout the beans
Mill: Ndiaini Factory
Region: Mukurweini, Nyeri
Varietal: SL 28, SL34, Ruiru 11 and Batian
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,850 maslAfter the producers gather their ripe cherries, they will deliver them to the Factory. Generally, producers only travel 5 kilometers to deliver their coffee, utilizing wheelbarrows, bicycles and motorbikes. Once the cherries reach the mill, the cherries are sorted and then pulped to remove the external fruit from the coffee bean. This is done via machine that squeezes the cherries between a rotating drum and a fixed surface. The coffee is then soaked in cement tanks for 24 hours to break down the remaining mucilage. Afterwards, the coffee is washed with clean water through channels before being dispersed on raised beds to dry in the open sun for 14 – 21 days, or until the moisture content reaches 10 – 12%.
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.
Ndia-ini Wet Mill
The Factory is located near the town of Mukurweini in the Nyeri County. There are roughly 500 smallholder producers contributing cherries to this lot, 280 men and 220 women. Producers will typically grow tea, maize, wheat, potato, kale, in addition to coffee whilst also raising cattle for dairy and chickens.
Situated at roughly 1,850 meters above sea level, the region where the Factory is located is defined by its bright red soils, full of rich nutrients for coffee trees. The high altitude allows for cool temperatures and ideal rainfall for the slow maturation of coffee cherries. Producers will add manure, compost, coffee pulp and green manure to enrich their soil.
There are various efforts in place to assist the producers with improving production. Tree planting campaigns, irrigation projects, and climate change mitigation information are some of these initiatives. Waste management is another practice enforced in order to prevent harm to the environment.
This lot was sourced by our exporting partner, Kenya Co-operative Coffee Exporters Limited (KCCE), which was founded in June of 2009. The creation of the KCCE was supported by the government in response to the vital need for coffee producers in Kenya to have more control over the marketing of their coffee in order to increase income. The organization was thus formed to address the many challenges smallholders face in Kenya with its main goal to assist with processing, promoting, and marketing the coffee from these producers. By providing technical and advisory services to producers, they are able to help them increase production
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.