This Kenyan hails from the southern slopes of Mount Kenya where conditions for coffee cultivation couldn't be finer. Add to this one of coffee's best accidents - the peaberry - and you have a resounding cup. Many believe that the naturally occurring peaberry, where the coffee cherry produces one plump round bean instead of two halves, doubles the flavor and sugar of the seed and is easier to roast. Year after year, Kirinyaga coffees are admired for their ripe, fruit-forward profiles. This one, grown by smallholder farmers and processed at the Kirinyaga Factory, does not disappoint. Whether it's the fine soil, the high elevation, or the influence of the ethereal peaberry, this coffee sparkles.
The Kirinyaga is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the Kimandi Factory located in Kirinyaga County, a growing region in the fertile foothills of Mount Kenya well-known for its jammy, exuberant coffees of caramel, honey and lushly sweet fruit tones.
The Kabare Farmer's Cooperative Society manages the Kimandi Factory which processes cherry from members who generally cultivate roughly 250 coffee trees on half-acre plots. With the harvest coming from small parcels, cherry classification is the most critical variable to ensure cup quality. Small plots give these growers more control to strategically pick and deliver only the ripest cherry to the factory. Additional cherry sorting is also done at the factory before the coffee is depulped, fermented and washed. After the coffee is washed, it's soaked in fresh water for long periods of time to solidify the hallmark Kenyan profiles.
At the helm of Kenya's Central Province, Mount Kenya is the second tallest peak on the continent of Africa and a commanding presence. The mountain itself is a single point inside a vast thicket of ascending natural forest and active game protection communities. The central counties of Kenya extend from the center of the national park, like six irregular pie slices, with their points meeting at the peak of the mountain. It is along the lower edge of these forests where, in wet, high elevation communities with mineral-rich soil, many believe the best coffees in Kenya, arguably the world, are crafted.
Brewing Applications: A bypass brew; a French Press will heighten the Kenyan's body and flavor
ORIGIN INFORMATION
Grower: Coffee producers organized around the Kabare FCS
Variety: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian
Region: Kirinyaga County, Kenya
Harvest: October - January
Altitude: 1700-1900 meters
Soil: Clay loam
Process: Fully washed after depulping and fermenting, then soaked in clean water before drying on raised beds
