The Coffees of Kenya

Africa: Kenya

On a historical note: coffee was introduced into Kenya by way of Reunion (Bourbon) island at the end of the 19th century. (1893 is sometimes given as the date). It was brought for local cultivation by the Fathers of the Holy Spirit congregation, another case of the long and twisted road that religion and coffee have traveled together!

This map of the Mt Kenya area shows some of the nearby coffee origins (I highlighted the names in yellow).

Patrick from Royal has a very informative write-up on Kenyas (.PDF file format)

Current Crop Comments:

The Main Crop 2008 lots have arrived, and many have already sold out.We had lots from all the major regions; Kiambu, Nyeri, Thika, Meru, Muranga, Ruiru, Kirinyaga. There is always a great Kenya to be found in the main crop arrivals (February through August). I cup around 10-20 every single week! With so much choice, the notion of an "up" year or "down" no longer make sense to me. The auction system gives me such great access to all the lots, even if there was an overall problem due to weather, etc. it would not preclude me from finding great lots. It's just a matter of being consistent, and doing my job at the cupping table! -Tom

Kenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch. The best Kenya coffees are not sold simply as generic AA or AB. They are specific auction lots sold to the highest bidder, and heated competition drives the prices up. Their research and development is unparalleled. Their quality control is meticulous, and many thousands of small farmers are highly educated in their agricultural practice --and rewarded -- for top level coffee.

In general, this is a bright coffee that lights up the palate from front to back. It is not for people who do not like acidity in coffee (acidity being the prized bright notes in the cup due to an interrelated set of chlorogenic acids). A great Kenya is complex, and has interesting fruit (berry, citrus) flavors, sometimes alternating with spice. Some are clean and bright, others have cherished winey flavors.

I am really proud of our consistently excellent selection of Kenyas! It takes a lot of work to sort through the many samples available to find the few that are truly complex, that alternate in the way you sense them to make the coffee more than just your standard, pleasant cup, but a real experience. When we go after an auction lot, 9 out of 10 times we buy the whole thing; it is exclusively ours. While it is possible that the same farm or co-op has more than 1 auction lot (for example, 1 early in the season, and 1 a bit later in the same harvest) I can say with certainty that I cupped them all and bought the better one. It's just a matter of effort and hard work, and when it comes to cupping Kenyas, we put a focused and intensive effort into the auctions during the Main Crop season.

Currently, the excellent Kenya auction system and coffee production in general is suffering myriad problems as is all of East Africa. Kenya, the former model of progress and African Independence is in a disarray. For now, the coffees are still of high quality but if the auction system does not continue to serve and benefit the small farmer co-ops, they will plant other crops instead, or replace the better cultivars (the excellent SL-28 and SL-34 selections) with the disease resistant but poor quality Ruiri 11 strain.

2.21.08 - Out of concern about the unrest in Kenya , we have donated to Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization active in the area. The unrest does not seem to be effecting coffee areas, but it is hard to see a country that had been very stable endure a period like this. - Maria & Tom

Coffee Farms:	573,426 farms grouped into 275 cooperatives, 1,275 plantations	Harvest Times:	Main Crop: October-December, Fly Crop: June-August
Coffee Workers:	6,000,000	Grading, Processing :	AA (17/18 screen)=highest M'buni, natural coffee for local consumption=lowest: Wet-processing
Shade Grown:	Rarely	Certified Organic:	None. Localized use of chemicals is rare, due to excellent agricultural methods: mulching, pruning, mowing etc.
Major Coffee Growing Regions:	High Plateau around Mt. Kenya, Aberdare Zone, West: Kasii, Nyanza, Bungoma, East: Nakuru, Kericho	Rank in Production::	6th in Africa 18th in World
Botanical Cultivars:	SL-28, SL-34, Bourbon, Kents, Typica, Riuri 11. Bourbons are sometimes called Scottish Mission and French Mission.	Introduced:	1800's: By the Fathers of the Holy Spirit Congregation: Bourbon in 1911 from Reunion: Kents in 1920 from the Indies.

Colored Kenya Coffee??? Sometimes you will see a bright color on an Auction Lot Kenya coffee seed. Kenya coffees are milled and assigned lot numbers during the auction process, before the winning bidder is known. Then they us chalk and a stencil to mark the bags with the winner's information. So you are seeing a little colored chalk, not ink, that made it through the weave of the bag onto the coffee. Roast 'em or remove 'em - they do not affect the cup, and are not harmful to health in any way. -Tom

Our Kenya Offerings: Please refer to our Reference Page for definitions of terms and cupping numbers used below.

Kenya AA Auction Lot 639 -Gatomboya

Country:

Kenya

Grade:

AA Main Crop Auction Lot

Region:

Nyeri District

Mark:

Gatomboya Nyeri Coffee Factory

Processing:

Wet-Process

Crop:

September 2008 Arrival

Appearance:

.2 d/300gr, 18 screen

Varietal:

SL-28

Dry Fragrance (1-5)

4.6

Notes: Gatomboya is yet another Nyeri district "coffee factory," which does NOT mean they make mugs, custom hats and vacuum bottles. It means they are a coffee mill in a municipality, and member-farmers of this "society," i.e. cooperative, bring their fresh coffee cherry here for processing. It was an odd year because the name Gatomboya kept popping up in the auction samples I was getting from my sources, well, the main people I place bids with, and I wasn't liking them. You can see this from my online cupping log. But I was getting a few samples here from a different exporter and lo and behold, a fantastic Gatomboya appeared on the cupping table. We put in a high bid for the auction and won the lot. This is the usual story with Kenya lots: a name means something, and you might recall some fantastic lot from this season or that, but it doesn't guarantee top cup quality. Partly, this is due to the nature of coffee as a variable crop, but much has to do with the management of quality at the mill, and training for the farmer members. But back to this great coffee ...I will skip to the cup flavors here, because it has so much sweet tangerine, not a cloying citrus, but a mild-toned brightness. I also get ripe boysenberry notes, black currant jelly, and such a clean, fruited finish. Backtracking, the dry fragrance has strong berry notes, milky-caramel sweetness. Wet aroma is a bit more muted, mallic (apple-like), with a bit of almond. This is not the brightest Kenya lot, not the most acidic of citric, but the sweetness of the fruit flavors is unparalleled. Some may find this lot milder than other, but pay attention to the quality of these flavors, not just the quantity of acidity, etc. I am recommending a lighter roast range for this coffee as well.

Wet Aroma (1-5)

4.3

Brightness - Acidity (1-10)

Flavor - Depth (1-10)

9.7

Body - Movement (1-5)

3.4

Finish - Aftertaste (1-10)

9.5

Cupper's Correction (1-5)

Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity/ Very sweetly fruited.

add 50

Roast: A City to City+ roast. I recommend keeping this one light!

Score (Max. 100)

92.5

Compare to: Very sweetly citrus-laced Kenya. This has lower intensity than other lots, a more delicate Kenya.

Kenya AA Auction Lot 407 -Giakanja

Country:

Kenya

Grade:

AA Main Crop Auction Lot

Region:

Nyeri District

Mark:

Giakanja Cooperative Union, 2008 main crop lot 407

Processing:

Wet Process

Crop:

September 2008 Arrival

Appearance:

.2 d/300gr, 18 screen

Varietal:

SL-34

Dry Fragrance (1-5)

4.3

Notes: Giakanja is a consistently unique coffee. It's a bit of a "wild one" among Kenyas. It is from the Nyeri district, where some of the most extraordinary Kenya lots come from. Nyeri has some of the highest altitude coffee, which means that the harvest peaks later, hence the late arrivals of good Nyeri lots. Many Nyeri coffees are highly acidic, with prized citrus notes: orange, lemon, lime, kumquat, grapefruit. But this Giakanja lot is quite different, heavily fruited, almost rustic fruit, as if there was just a bit of Indonesia herbal notes in there. Now to many cuppers, any suggestion of rustic or "Indonesia-like" cup character in a Kenya would raise red flags, and they would consider bidding on this lot in the Auction to be risky. But it is strange to me that the coffee trade will allow flavors that are a bit wild from one origin, and not another. Kenyas have historically had winey fruited notes, it's just that Giakanja has a bit more of Syrah type wine notes than other Kenyas. The cup starts with very sweet honey-caramel dry fragrance, which becomes more winey, chocolate and spice-laden at Full City roast. There's a big shift when you add the hot water. Light City and City+ roasts have incredible sweet floral-herbal aromas, with pink grapefruit and raw honey. The cup flavors are sweet in the light roasts, turning simply menacing and bittersweet as you reach FC+! It's Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde coffee, but in this case both "personalities" are extremely appealing. City to City+: cherry sweetness, orange honey, ginger root, and a herbal-floral accent combine to form a lively, effervescent cup character. It finishes with sweetness fading to a zest of lemon rind. At Full City and darker (Especially at FC+, a couple snaps into 2nd crack): Think Dark Shadows, Noir. There's a high contrast between sharp pungent spice, baker's chocolate bitterness, lingering dark caramelized sugar sweetness, and a stripe of Indonesian wildness running through the cup. A dark roast of this Kenya is a workout for your palate! In any case, it is one of the most versatile lots, since you the roaster have so much determination in the cup character: bright and zingy, with angelic bright notes, or heavy, aggressive, and corpulent ... you decide.

Wet Aroma (1-5)

4.4

Brightness - Acidity (1-10)

9.3

Flavor - Depth (1-10)

9.5

Body - Movement (1-5)

3.8

Finish - Aftertaste (1-10)

9.2

Cupper's Correction (1-5)

Intensity/Prime Attribute: Bold intensity / Herbal, floral notes, peaches in syrup, sweet, unusual.

add 50

Roast: See notes above. There's a hugely different cup that results from a light City roast than from a darker FC+ roast (a few snaps into 2nd crack). You can have it both ways Giakanja.

Score (Max. 100)

91.5

Compare to: Bright, lively Kenya in the light roast, aggressive and pungent Kenya in the darker roast range

Kenya AA Auction Lot 526 -Tegu

Country:

Kenya

Grade:

AA Main Crop Auction Lot

Region:

Nyeri District

Mark:

Nyeri - Tegu Coffee Factory

Processing:

Wet-Process

Crop:

September 2008 Arrival

Appearance:

.2 d/300gr, 18 screen

Varietal:

SL-28

Dry Fragrance (1-5)

3.9

Notes: Tegu is a name we know: we have offered occasional lots from the Tegu coffee factory (mill) in the past, AA lots, AB lots, Peaberries. They have the potential to produce great quality but not all Tegu lots are so spectacular. Another great coffee company, Counter Culture, is working with Tegu on a direct basis to improve quality, whereas we are supporting the mill via the auctions. By either method, it takes a process of selection to buy great coffees from a Kenya source: you can't just go by the name. We cupped at least 8 various lots this year from this mill, and bought this one in the Kenya main crop auctions. It is not the most complex Kenya, but the quality of the acidity, the bright liveliness in the cup, made this jump out from the other coffees in the cupping. The fragrance from the dry grounds is very sweet with cane sugar and caramel scents, and a bit of red apple. The wet aroma has warming spices (allspice, pepper, cinnamon) … cinnamon in particular. The cup flavors are dominated by apple and citrus in the bright acidity, which fade gracefully. There are turbinado (raw sugar) flavors in the finish, and apple skins. It's not a complex Kenya, but has outstanding, clean/clear fruited flavors. As it cools, the cup attains more balance, and the body turns from juicy to creamy. There are mild nut roast tones of toasted hazelnut. This is definitely one of the finer lots Tegu has produced through the years, based on my cuppings.

Wet Aroma (1-5)

Brightness - Acidity (1-10)

9.3

Flavor - Depth (1-10)

Body - Movement (1-5)

3.2

Finish - Aftertaste (1-10)

8.8

Cupper's Correction (1-5)

Intensity/Prime Attribute: Bold intensity/ Fruited, juicy, bright cup, medium body

add 50

Roast: A City to Full City roast.

Score (Max. 100)

89.2

Compare to: Bright, citrus Nyeri-region Kenyas, sweetly fruited with moderate body.

Kenya Thika Chania - French Mission Cultivar

Country:

Kenya

Grade:

Region:

Thika District

Mark:

Chania Estate

Processing:

Wet-Process

Crop:

September 2008 Arrival

Appearance:

.6 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen

Varietal:

Bourbon, French Mission type

Dry Fragrance (1-5)

3.8

Notes: This is a very unique lot, a throwback coffee from a cultivar introduced over a century ago, a unique lot of Kenya coffee. It is not sold in the Kenya Auctions, but via direct purchase (which was not allowed until a couple years ago). It's called Second Harvest, and it doesn't necessarily yield better results ... but it allows buyers 2 avenues to get great coffee from Kenya. Most of our lots come through the competitive auction but this was bought by an importer who wanted to ensure they got all the coffee from this farm. The farm is from 1525 meters in the Thika district, from one private estate, Chania. French Mission Bourbon is an original cultivar, brought by French missionaries in the late 19th century from the island of Bourbon (now Reunion). (There was also Scottish Mission that entered via Tanzania in the south with ... you guessed it ...Scottish missionaries). The green coffee does have a different appearance than the excellent SL-28 and SL-34 from Scott Labs in the 1950's. The comparisons with Rwanda begin, since that country is planted entirely in old Bourbon cultivar. It looks somewhat like Rwanda Bourbon, and the cup has suggestions of it too. It reminds me of a very distinct Rwanda Bourbon, which makes sense in terms of the cultivar expressing itself here. There are vague hints in the dry fragrance of that heritage, balanced chocolate sweet/bittersweets. There are sweet desert-like hints with cake and vanilla aromatics. The wet aroma gives more clues, and the scents really "open up" more. Wet aromas feature more sweetness, some dark berry notes (blackberry) and traces of black current, with just a slight oaky quality. The cup flavors are interesting and a little confounding. It's a hard nut to crack, flavors in the hot cup are very compact and in a tight range, closed. But the flavors that emerge are unique. Again, there are dark berry, clean fruit, hiding behind an imposing and balanced bittersweet roast flavor. The term "well-structured" seems very appropriate, although I use it with some regret; you can taste or smell "well-structured." It's really about how the coffee flavors and scents interact, relate to each other. Fruity flavors that come from processing might be lush and attractive, but have that pulpy character, and are not part of a cup you would term "well-structured." The clean fruits here are more austere and less accessible, but deserve more respect and are more complex. Perhaps another approach is to note how different this is from other Kenya lots. It is not citrusy, not "berry-like" in that intoxicating Kenya kind of way. It doesn't have that prickly acidity, although it is indeed a "bright" coffee.

Wet Aroma (1-5)

3.8

Brightness - Acidity (1-10)

8.7

Flavor - Depth (1-10)

9.2

Body - Movement (1-5)

3.6

Finish - Aftertaste (1-10)

9.2

Cupper's Correction (1-5)

Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity/ Well-structured and complex coffee.

add 50

Roast: City+ to Full City. The roast darkens considerably at C+ and might appear darker than it really is.

Score (Max. 100)

89.3

Compare to: Moderate acid Kenya cup with good depth - initially masked flavors open up as it cools.