Here is a coffee that we have been enjoying as a filter and espresso roast. We have found that the rest from harvest has made a sweeter all round nicer coffee in both filter and espresso. We buy our Kenya coffees from Trabocca for a host of reasons. Being part of that supply chain makes a difference.
Just so that we don’t break tradition, we have stats next:
Factory: Kenya Kii
Producer Group: 850 Smallholder producers
Region: Kirinyaga, Central Kenya •(‘Kirinyaga’, the namesake of the county, meaning the crest of whiteness due to its famous snow-capped peaks).
Nearest Town: Kibugu
Processing: Fully Washed
Variety: sl28 & SL34
Altitude:1310-1900 M.A.S.L.
Harvest time: May – July (early crop) | October – December (late crop)
Roast: Filter
Cup profile 🍜
|Aromatics: Blackcurrant Jam| Body: Creamy on cooling| Acidity: Currants & Citrus|
On opening, there is a big brown sugary sweetness, that evolves into a blackcurrant and grapefruit juice. The blackcurrant sweetness carries all the way down to cool, with hints of black tea and a long delicious finish.
Roast: Espresso
Cup profile 🍜
9oz Milk-based. This is perfect with whole milk. Plenty of sweet fruit and currenty depth. Just a perfect ilk-based espresso drink.
6oz Milk-based. Because it’s January and you can still have nice coffee, with less dairy. There is more fruit, but it’s not punchy or intense, it’s just “more!”
Espresso. So much sweetness and curranty acidity. Due to the depth of roast, this is an easy espresso to make and taste.
Brew recipe:
17g into 34g 25-30 seconds on milk-based drinks at 93-94C
17g into 45-50g of espresso liquid in 26-34 seconds
Farm Stuff
Kenya Kii Coffee Factory
The Kii Factory was founded in 1995 and is one of three owned and operated by Rungeto Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS). Both Karimikui and Kiangoi are sister factories owned by the same FCS. The Kii River, also at the foot of Mount Kenya which runs nearby, gives the factory both its name and clean water for washing fine, Fully washed coffees.
Selectively picked coffee cherries are delivered to the factory. As the coffee arrives it is scrutinised by the Cherry Clerk, whose job is to visually check for quality and consistency. The cherries are then put into lots, pulped, and fermented for 16-24 hours. This part is dependent on local humidity and temperature. Once the coffee has been fermented it is washed in clean Kii river water for approximately 12 hours and later dried on raised beds, before resting in parchment before shipping.
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