Dear coffee subscriber,
July has arrived and your subscription coffee has just left our roastery. This month, I’m delighted to say that the Kenyan coffees I was hoping to send out, have arrived.
For those of you enjoying warmer weather in July, these three wonderful Kenyan coffees can also work perfectly as iced coffees. Whether you chill down a V60 coffee or make espresso and then cool it down, the key is to have fun and be creative with your coffee.
If you do decide to make iced coffee, I can also recommend adding just a little bit of sweetness (sugar or honey) once any of this month’s coffees are cold, and they will taste like fruit juice.
Kagere – 1st & 4th bag
Flavour notes: Intense, winey, blackberries & blackcurrants
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2021
Origin: Nyeri, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28 & SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian
This is the first time we buy coffee from the Kagere wet mill. I received a sample from the exporter, Dormans in Kenya along with other samples from wet mills we have been buying from in the past and I was so blown away by the intensity of flavour from this coffee that I could not resist buying the lot. If you love Kenyan coffees as much as I do, then this one is a real treat. It has a super refreshing and tart acidity that is balanced with intense “purple flavours” like blackcurrants, blackberries, red grapes and sour cherries.
I have not personally visited the Kagere wet mill, but in the past we have bought several lots of coffee from the Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society which Kagere is a part of.
Gachatha – 2nd & 5th bag
Flavour notes: Blackcurrants, rose hips & hibiscus
Producer: Several smallholder farmers
Harvest: December 2021
Origin: Nyeri, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28 & SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian
The coffees from the Gachatha wet mill has consistently been among the best coffees I have tasted in Kenya over many years and because they produce such consistent high quality there is a big demand for these coffees. Fortunately we managed to get our hands on a small amount this year and I believe the quality is even better than toe lot we purchased last year.
I have visited the wet mill several times and been amazed by how much training the cooperative gives to their farmers. They have their own demonstration plot at the wet mill where they can train their members in good agricultural practices and they also grow seedlings of both coffee trees and shade trees that are distributed to their members. Although most members are still growing the traditional SL28 and SL34 cultivars, we know that they have been planting the new hybrid cultivars Ruiru 11 and a lot of Batian in the recent years. Still the coffee from Gachatha has the recognisable intense fruity flavours that I think of when I dream about delicious Kenyan coffees.
Karinga – 3rd & 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 slight more delicate with floral, blackberry, black tea and rose hip flavours.