Kenya Meru Kinjo AB

This is the first year we've purchased Kinjo, a coffee that comes from the opposite side of the mountain than our Nyeri's and Kirinyaga's. This is Meru County, home to the Meru people, a Bantu ethnic group who are said to be some of the first Africans to grow coffee in Kenya starting back in the early 1930's. Kinjo is a washing station - or "factory" as they're known in Kenya - named for the village it resides in. It is part of Katheri Farmers Cooperative Society, and operates as a conduit for local coffee farmers to sell their coffee and receive agronomical assistance as cooperative members. Altitude in this region ranges from 1650 meters to above 2000 meters above sea level in neighboring Katheri. Farmers typically have very small plots of coffee (less than half a hectare) and is one of several cash crops grown. This is an AB separation, which are the medium size coffee beans that measure 15/64" to 17/64" in size. Unless you're grading coffee, that's a pretty pretty difficult measurement to visualize! Imagine the size uniformity of a typical Guatemalan coffee. There is one grade size larger in Kenya, the AA, which commands the highest price but doesn't necessarily mean it cups any better than the AB. We found this lot to show some interesting dark fruit tones, with more moderate acidity compared to some of our Nyeri coffees.