August is here and your subscription coffee just left our roastery. The new harvest from Kenya just arrived in time for this month’s subscription shipments and I know that I am not the only one who is excited about that.
Despite the long shipping time and obstacles the Kenyan coffees has been through on their way, they are tasting great and we are so glad we can share them with you in the August subscription. This month I have picked out coffees from three different washing stations in Kenya, two of them are located in Nyeri and the third in Kiambu. All three coffees are produced by several smallholder farmers and are so called “co-operative coffees”.
Karogoto 1 + 4 bags
Flavour notes: Rose hips, hibiscus & blackcurrants
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2020
Origin: Nyeri, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28, SL34, Batian & Ruiru 11
The coffees from Karogoto are always super clean and have an intense fruity and floral flavour. This is most likely because most of the members / farmers are still growing the SL28 cultivar and have received a lot of agricultural training over the years. The climatic conditions also contributes to the coffees intensity. The cool nights and moderately hot days slow down the ripening process and gives a very sweet, intense and unique coffee.
The 2020 harvest from Karogoto is very similar to the 2019 harvest with a vibrant acidity and a distinct flavour profile reminiscent of rose hips and hibiscus. The consistent quality of this coffee year after year shows that Karogoto is a very well managed wet mill much thanks to Ephraim, the wet-mill manager, who has been in charge of processing this coffee for many years. Ephraim has a great attention to details which I think contributes to this coffee’s remarkable cleanliness and refreshing acidity which are some of the attributes I love about this coffee.
Gachatha 2 + 5 bags
Flavour notes: Winey, blackberries & blackcurrants
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2020
Origin: Nyeri, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28, SL34, Batian & Ruiru 11
Gachatha is a small cooperative with only one wet mill located in Nyeri. The around 1000 members are all smallholder farmers cultivating on average around 150 coffee trees each. This means that getting our hands on this delicious coffee is not easy as the coffee produced at Gachatha has consistently been among the best coffees we have tasted in Kenya and there are plenty of buyers who want this coffee. Fortunately we managed to get our hands on a small amount this year. The Nyeri area is famous for producing some of the best coffees in Kenya and therefore some of the best coffees in the world. The green lush environment with a climate that is always cool at night followed by warm days. This gives really good growing conditions for the coffee and paired with the old SL28 and SL34 cultivars that most of the farmers are cultivating you get an intense and fruity cup of coffee with the classic black currant flavour that is so unique for these coffees. Out of the three coffees we are sending out this month, I find this to be the most «classic Kenyan» when it comes to flavour. Expect loads of very ripe purple berry flavours.
Karinga 3 + 6 bags
Flavour notes: Floral, blackberries & rose hips
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2020
Origin: Kiambu, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28 & SL34
This coffee is grown at around 1900 masl in Kiambu where the climate is cool and makes the coffee ripen slower and develop more flavour, sweetness and acidity.
Most of the members who sell their coffee cherries to this wet mill grow mainly the SL28 cultivar (with some growing SL34) because of good yields and exceptional quality in high altitudes. The majority of the farmers in this area have therefore been reluctant to plant the newer rust tolerant hybrids Batian andRuiru 11 which are becoming more common in lower altitudes in Kenya.
For me this coffee has been a standout for several years when I have been tasting coffees in Kenya because of its intensity of flavour. This year, I find the coffee to be quite winey and floral with intense blackberry and rose hip flavours. It is a very complex coffee that displays layers of flavour as it cools, so make sure you enjoy this coffee at various temperatures.
Thanks for reading and as always, we hope you enjoy the coffees and learning from our monthly videos. If you need some brewing tips, visit our website.
I hope you will enjoy the coffees
Tim W