Tag: Kenya
Barrington Coffee Roasters Kenya AA Nyeri Kirimara Estate
Lately I haven’t been enjoying coffee at home as much as I’m used to. I’m not sure whether it’s the arrival of summer and with it warmer temperatures that make that hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning a bit less comforting. Or maybe I’ve just forgotten how to brew coffee, my measurements of water and grounds all awry. Or maybe my palate has moved on to different tastes for the time being, and I just can’t appreciate coffee right now.
Maybe I should start drinking tea…
…
Let’s not get crazy now. Fortunately, as an antidote to this coffee-malaise that I am in, I’ve opened up a new bag of Barrington Coffee Roasters Kenya AA Nyeri Kirimara Estate. I don’t think I’ve had any coffee from these folks in a while, and I was looking forward to giving their current Kenya offering a whirl. At any one time, BCR typically has just one offering from a particular country, with the current exception being their two offerings from Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. But that pair doesn’t really count, since one of them is their unique offering of the Beloya Selection Eight, a coffee produced by the Ninety Plus Coffee program and shipped directly to BCR’s offices. Generally, I appreciate their decision to not offer a boatload of coffees because that way you know the coffee will be both carefully chosen and very fresh.
This Kenyan AA is produced similar to most Kenyan coffees. The coffee cherries are first cleaned, before being wet-fermented, and then sun dried on raised beds. The coffee itself was grown on the Kirimara Estate in Nyeri and located at the foot of Mount Kenya, at an altitude of 5000+ feet. The varietals grown on this 250-acre estate include SL28 (90% of the crop) and Ruiru (10% of the crop).
The nose displays notes of carob, candied almonds, and bright red fruits. The palate has flavors of almonds, milk chocolate, and fresh currants. The coffee’s texture is soft and supple, supported by a gentle, brightening acidity. The finish is very long-lasting, with nutty, sweet flavors and textures opening up in layers.
While I still don’t think I hit the spot when making this coffee, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The flavors were warm and enticing, and the coffee was somehow very relaxing and easy to enjoy.
Related Posts:
Stumptown Coffee Roasters Kenya Gaturiri Reserve
Kenyan coffee represents a difficult and sad contradiction. The country is renowned for producing some of the finest coffees in the world. Roasters across the spectrum cite Kenyan coffee as embodying the perfect confluence of geography, varietals, and well-honed and effective processing methods. Yet the country’s auction system which can effectively pay top dollars to well-deserving, quality coffees is also renowned for the poor management and corruption that frequently result in the actual producers – the farmers themselves – receiving little of this money. As a result, while the country’s coffees can be excellent, the farmers struggle to make a living and maintain their communities.
So it is notable that this is Stumptown’s first ever East African Direct Trade coffee. Their website explains that “to be able to guarantee such a phenomenal price to the association members of Gaturiri…is the first step towards transparent coffee business in Kenya.” This direct relationship is the result of the opening of what is called the “Second Window”. In November of 2006 the Kenyan government authorized legislation which allowed farmers to pursue relationships with agents outside of the auction system. While this “Second Window” legislation has raised many questions about its efficacy in improving farmers’ options for selling their coffee, roasters such as Stumptown and Intelligentsia have begun introducing new Kenyan coffees that are indeed the result of more direct relationships with farmers than they had been able to before. As part of these relationships the roasters are guaranteeing premium prices to the cooperatives and farmers they are working with, striving to achieve optimal financial transparency and to ensure that the farmers receive their due share of the prices paid, and working closely with both farmers and cooperatives to promote and enable ideal and sustainable agriculture and processing methods. Two years after the passing of the new legislation, these relationships forged by prominent roasters may be the first steps in improving both the quality of Kenyan coffee (which was already very good) and the economic life of the farmers who produce it.
Check out this article for more information on the “Second Window” legislation.
This Gaturiri Reserve was produced in East Africa by the members of the Gaturiri washing station that is part of the Barichu Cooperative in the Central Kenyan Highlands. The coffee was raised at an altitude of 1700-1800 meters, and features the two common Kenyan varietals SL28 and SL34. The “SL” stands for Scot Laboratories where the varietals were first developed. In the 1930’s this lab conducted cross-breeding of a number of different varieties in search of high-quality, high-yield, and disease resistant strains. SL28 and SL34 were both results of this work. SL28 is known for high-quality but fairly small yields, and producing an intensely citric, sweet, and balanced cup. SL34 is best known for producing high-quality coffee at medium-to-high altitudes, complex citric acidity, heavy mouthfeel and clean, sweet finish. The coffee is wet-processed, and after being washed the beans are transferred to drying tables.
The roast is fairly light, yet again disproving the persistent myth that all West coast coffees are darkly roasted. The nose gives off scents of milk chocolate, hazelnuts, and salted caramel. The palate has pine nuts, malted milk balls, ancho peppers, caramel, cedar, and blackberries. The texture is plush and rich with an easy-drinking soft acidity. The finish is dry, minty and nutty and medium-length.
A very nice coffee from Stumptown. Not as compelling as the Ethiopian coffee that I had from them recently, or some of the other Kenyan coffees, but very enjoyable and easy to drink. The lush texture and low acidity make this a good cup of coffee for anytime of day, and I suspect that it’d be appealing to a broad range of palates.
Related Posts:
Counter Culture Coffee Kenya Ndaroini Microlot
As I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate coffee, it’s really the concept of the “microlot” coffee that has most grabbed my imagination. In the same way that single-vineyard wines or single-barrel whisk(e)ys offer the opportunity to taste a wholly unique example of that product, microlot coffees do the same. When the vast bulk of coffees that we see around us are at best single-origin coffees (e.g. “Colombian”), the microlot coffee stands apart as an entirely different experience.
This is my most distinct fascination with the specialty-coffee market, and the small handful of roasters that I pay attention to. Not only are they roasting great coffee, but they are making a distinct effort to find and offer the best coffees from around the world, and paying homage to the people who grow those coffees. Terroir, Intelligentsia, and Counter Culture are especially good at this. If you peruse their websites you can learn so much about the stories and the people behind the coffees that they are offering, and I firmly believe that this enhances the experience of your morning coffee. Instead of your coffee lacking personality and a background, you can now know that the coffee you’re drinking was grown by a person or a cooperative in a specific place in a specific country, growing certain varietals using very specific methods. While this is not guaranteed to make your coffee taste better (although it should be a better tasting coffee), it educates you about the coffee that you’re drinking and puts front-and-center the stories of the people who are producing coffee throughout the world.
In order to raise the value associated with coffee and to thereby enable the farmers growing it to earn a living wage, this kind of consumer-education is very important. And from my perspective as someone interested in learning more about coffee and its unique expressions, this kind of information is priceless.
The case of this microlot from Counter Culture is a perfect example.If you look at their webpage about the coffee you have a chance to learn about the Kenyan coffee auction system which previously made it nearly impossible for coffee buyers to single out small lots of coffee such as this, but that a few years ago the Kenyan government passed a law allowing farmers to sell their coffee directly to buyers, circumventing the auction system. After a few years of diligent work by buyers such as Counter Culture, they have now forged relationships with growers in Kenya and are bringing in certain microlots such as this one.
This coffee was produced by the Ndaroini collective located in Nyeri Kenya. At an altitude of 1600 meters they are growing the SL-28 and SL-34 varietals (I should research and write a page about Kenyan varietals, all of which have these codes for names). The coffee is harvested from October-December, and I believe this coffee was harvested in 2008, although I am not certain. As a result of their relationships with the cooperative, Counter Culture was not only able to source this coffee, but to have it vacuum-sealed at origin, so that it retained as much of its freshness as possible before arriving at their roastery in North Carolina.
After my very first sip I was convinced that this was a very good coffee. The nose has citrus fruits, hot peppers, scents of dark hot chocolate and a notable woodiness. The palate starts with a light-berry sweetness laced with a very bright acidity underscored by flavors of cocoa. The finish is driven by a pleasant acidity that gives way to an unsweetened cocoa flavor and a hint of butterscotch. From start-to-finish this coffee is bright with a good acidity, and is simply packed with flavor.
I’ll be sad when this is gone, but fortunately Counter Culture is currently offering another microlot of Kenyan coffee, this one from the Tegu cooperative, which I may decide to give a whirl. If it’s anything like this coffee, it will be very satisfying, to drink and to learn about!
Related Posts: