This gorgeous coffee from Kenya is as clean as they come.
With tasting notes of nectarine, apricot and cola, this is a washed coffee from the Kainamui in Gichugu, Kirinyaga, about 90 miles north of Nairobi.
So where does this coffee come from?
Kainamui is the name of the processing station this coffee is from. A processing station is a kind of hub: coffee from many different local farms is transported there to be processed and made ready to export. Kainamui is owned by the New Ngariama Farmers Cooperative Society, and serves about 1800 members - all smallholder farmers who own, on average, just under half a hectare of land. The co-op also provides prefinancing for farmers, allowing them to pay school fees and production costs.
In a lot of ways, this is a very classic Kenyan coffee: from its flavour notes to its varietals (Batian, SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11), it's exactly what you want from a Kenyan. It's also gone through the distinctive Kenyan washed process.
There's a few different names for this process -- double fermented, Kenyan double washed, the 72hr process -- and it is a very distinctive method. It involves two separate 24hr fermentations (one dry, one submerged) and then a final wash. It brings out so much brightness and clarity in the coffee, and is used pretty much throughout the entire country.
How did we choose it?
We've been sadly lacking in African coffees on our shelves recently, so we've been getting a lot of samples in! We've been trying coffees from Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya...
This one was just so clean and so juicy sweet, it really stood out to us! And honestly, it's really great to have a coffee that is just so representative of coffee from a particular region -- it's a great way to introduce people to what might become their new favourite origin!
How should I make it?
Best for V60, Clever Dripper, or Kalitia.
We use 17g of coffee to 250g of water, with a water temp of 85°C. Always used filtered water if you can!
Brew for 2:30, put your feet up, and enjoy.
