We have just completed an extensive cupping of new crop top Kenya auction lots. Included were coffees from micro-regions where the output of several combined farms, are graded and sold separately, as their superior quality commands higher prices; some of the lots are the output of a single farm. At the conclusion of the cupping we selected two coffees, one that has recently arrived in the US and available now, the other is still in Kenya and will arrive here in a couple of months.
This first coffee of 2009 is Kiru, the name of the coffee cooperative or local washing station where local smallholders bring their coffee to be processed. The farmers bring in their freshly harvested coffee cherries and the washing station does all the steps required to produce green coffee ready for export. These steps when associated with washed coffee, such as this, include depulping, fermenting, washing, drying, milling and bagging.
Kiru coffee is grown at an altitude of 1750 meters (5750 feet) in the Muranga region in Kenya’s Central Province, not far from Nairobi and on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. It is fully washed using traditional methods, then 100% sun dried on patios. The SL-28 and SL-34 varietals, or types of seed, utilized in this lot are those highly prized in Kenya coffees. These are offshoots of the Bourbon varietal and account for much of the classic ‘blackcurrant’ flavor associated with better Kenya coffees. Many Kenya coffee growers plant other higher yielding yet inferior tasting varietals.
Cup Characteristics: Very round and full bodied with layers of flavor in the mouth. Notes of dried apricot. Notably, this coffee is especially clear and crisp with softly piquant, juicy, dry grape acidity perceived on the back and sides of the tongue. It is soft and gentle on the palate, offering flavors of prune and other stone fruit. Long, pleasing finish.
