Kenya Nyeri Mutwewathi AA

Syrupy mouthfeel and citrus acidity carried the cup of our City+ roasts, where broad sweetness lead to flavor profiles of unrefined sugars and fruit pastry hints. City roast level seemed too light in our cup tests, where this coffee tends to show its age to some extent. But the middle roasts help balance things out, without edging too far into smokey dark roast territory. The dry fragrance brought a nice scent of brown sugar and zested lemon, with a note of lemon curd and toasted meringue topping after adding hot water. The cup sweetness is pronounced at City+, veering into raw sugars, simple syrup made with brown sugar, and demerara. Citrus notes have a bracing quality, and combine with the underlying sweetness to profiles of lemon squares, and orange pastry cream with bittering zest in the finish. Our dark roast was just a shade darker (not quite Full City), but you could already taste the fruit flavors shifting into more dark berry territory, with a soft cocoa powder counterpoint.