Dear coffee subscriber,
Autumn is here and that means we are receiving a lot of fresh crop coffees in our warehouse. It is also time to harvest forest berries here in Norway, so I thought it was appropriate to send out some coffees that have some of those types of berry flavours.
This month we are sending out one of the best coffees we have bought from Karogoto in several years. Packed full og blackcurrant and ripe cherry flavours, it is a real fruit bomb of a coffee. I believe the best way to describe this coffee is like Malin, our subscription manager describes it in this month’s video «WOW». We hope that you get the same experience as Malin did the first time she tasted this coffee.
Karogoto – 1st & 4th bag
Flavour notes: Blackcurrants, hibiscus & ripe cherries
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2021
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.
This particular lot is probably the best lot I have tasted from Karogoto in several years, with super intense flavours like ripe cherry and blackcurrants with a winey hibiscus tea and floral touch. The fruit aromas from the beans and ground coffee are very intense and happily it also delivers in the cup. I really hope you will enjoy it as much as I have recently.
Nacimiento Pacas – 2nd & 5th bag
Flavour notes: Winey, red fruits & mango
Producer: Jobneel Caceres Dios
Harvest: April 2021
Origin: El Cielito, Santa Barbara, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Pacas
This is the second last harvest lot from Nacimiento in 2021 which means it is harvested from the higher part of Jobneel’s farm.
Because of the higher altitude on the farm, the cherries ripen slower as there is less sun due to the clouds gathering and cooler climate at the top of the mountain where this coffee is grown. In our experience the coffees from the highest part and latest pickings are always the most flavour-intense from Nacimiento. This coffee is very expressive and open with loads of stone fruit and winey red berry flavours, yet compared to the Kenyan coffees we are sending out this month you might find it more towards chocolate, sweet and smooth rather than vibrant and acidic.
Karinga – 3nd & 6th bag
Flavour notes: Floral, blackberries & rose hips
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2021
Origin: Kiambu, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Mainly 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 and Ruiru 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 slightly more delicate with floral, blackberry, black tea and rose hip flavours.