Dear coffee subscribers,
We have entered a new year, hopefully a year with less restrictions and more normality. We are very excited to be able to welcome a record high number of new coffee subscribers in the new year. We promise that we will make sure to do our very best to deliver exceptional coffees in the coming year. We are also looking in to improving our tasting videos and making them even more engaging for our subscribers. More on that to come.
To kick off 2022 I have chosen three coffees that I think you will be very pleased with. The 1st and 2nd coffees are both produced in Kenya, one from a small growers group named Warenew and the other is a classic in our offerings from the wet mill Karogoto. The third coffee I have picked out is a little extra treat .It is a Geisha cultivar produced by the award winning farmers Moises Herrera and Marysabel Caballero. It is a coffee that really impressed me last season and that is why we have been saving it for our January subscription as we know we get a lot of new subscribers over Christmas and we want to give you all a highlight in January.
Warenew 1st & 4th bagFlavour notes: Tamarind, red berries & herbs.
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2020
Origin: Embu, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28 & Ruiru 11
Warenew is a company founded by a group of farmers who decided to start working together towards a common goal of increasing their production, value and quality of their coffee. (It was during a visit to some of their members farms where I learned the planting technique that has been a huge success at our own biological coffee farm in Colombia, Finca el Suelo.)
The farms are all located around Embu, in altitudes ranging from 1300 – 1800 meters above sea level. The members / farmers are mainly growing the SL28 cultivar that is famous for its fruity high quality cup profile, yet some of the farms located in the lower parts are still growing the Ruiru 11 hybrid.
We believe that because there is a mix of both SL28 and Ruiru 11 from low and high altitudes, the profile of this coffee is a bit different than what you might be used to from Kenya. It is both fruity and slight herbal with an intense body and vanilla like finish. The acidity is a bit more tamed compared to some of the coffees we buy from Nyeri, that is grown in higher altitudes.
Karogoto 2nd & 5th bagFlavour 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.
Caballero Geisha 3rd & 6th bag
Flavour notes: Sweet mandarin, jasmine & honey
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2021
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Geisha
The Geisha cultivar is famous for its floral and citric cup profile. This award winning coffee from the Caballeros is no exception. Unlike the Panamanian geishas which typically has a light bodied cup, this Honduran grown Geisha has a heavier mouthfeel, slight lower intensity of acidity and a subtle herbal finish. Like last year Moises separated all pickings from his Geisha trees and I was fortunate to be able to select my favourite lots.
Expect expressive sweet mandarin flavours with a floral and herbal twist.
PS. if you are brewing this coffee with a V60 or filter coffee method, then you might experience a bit slow drawdown time during brewing (time for water to filter through the coffee). I recommend that you do not grind coarser to compensate for this but rather let it take some more time to make sure the coffee is extracted well. Since this coffee is lightly roasted you will get a more balanced brew even if you have longer brew times. In fact I personally would grind this coffee slight finer than the Kenyan coffees above to make sure I get the most sweetness, fruity and floral flavours out of this coffee.
Thank you for reading and for subscribing to our coffees. We hope you enjoy the coffees and learning from our monthly videos. If you need some brewing tips, visit our website.
Happy new year from all of us at Tim Wendelboe.