Ndaroini |
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  Nyeri, KenyaCounter Culture Direct Trade Certified Hand cultivated by our partnering Ndaroini producer group in the legendary foothills of Mt. Kenya, this beautifully bright and intensely flavorful lot resonates with notes of blackcurrant, tropical fruit, and dark chocolate. View Map. Visit Coffeereview.com for their blind assessment of this coffee! |
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$12.65
(per 12 oz bag) | ||
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Kenya has a unique place in the coffee world. Its coffee history is like no other, and coffee is traded in Kenya very differently than in any other country. Similarly, there is no mistaking great Kenyan coffee in the cup. The unique characteristics of a fine Kenya are so idiosyncratic that coffee cognoscenti can identify one the moment it is ground. Amazingly, even though Kenya is the immediate southern neighbor of Ethiopia, the ancestral homeland of the coffee plant where it grows wild to this day, coffee was only brought to Kenya in the late 1800s. The particular strains of coffee introduced to Kenya, however, were transplanted from the island of Bourbon (now called Reunion) in the Indian Ocean, where Ethiopian coffee plants had mutated into the distinct Bourbon variety. In Kenya, these varieties were referred to as French Mission and Scottish Mission, after the missionaries who brought them to Kenya in hopes of developing a viable cash crop. Over time, through an extensive selection process, Kenya developed its own unique strains of coffee, including the legendary SL-28 variety. SL-28 has an almost mythic reputation in the coffee industry, and may be the most respected coffee varietal in the world.  While Kenya was developing its unique agronomic personality, it also developed a unique coffee trading system. Most coffee farms in Kenya are very small, creating ideal conditions for groups of individual farmers to form an extensive network of cooperatives to market their produce. Although some of our cooperative partners are now selling directly to us via Kenya’s new “second window,” most of these cooperatives tender their coffee to a weekly auction in Nairobi, where they are sold to the highest bidder. Coffee buyers of all sorts can request samples, evaluate them, and bid on them through a licensed bidder. Most of these lots are bought by exporters, who mix them into proprietary blends. However, savvy buyers like us can go directly to the bidders and score pure, uncut auction lots that are the ne plus ultra of the Kenyan coffee experience, and, quite frankly, some of the best coffees available in the world. These lots, which we call Kenya Single Lots because of their singular uncut intensity, are gargantuan in terms of intensity and quality. As a coffee buyer, I am totally dedicated to obtaining the best lots at the auction each and every year. What we don’t buy are the blended, “bulked” lots available from the Kenyan exporters. The best of the Kenyan small lots are quite expensive, and are typically used in blends to try to improve the quality of lesser coffees. We like ‘em straight, and sell them as such. As a result, we offer a series of “auction lots” throughout the course of the year, identifying each by its auction number and the name of the cooperative which produced the magnificent coffee.  Because of the system in Kenya, it is impossible to develop the kind of long-term relationships we have created in many countries around the world. We can do the next best thing, however, and commit to rewarding the best coffees we taste and keeping them unblended, as they were meant to be tasted. And how does a great Kenyan Single Lot taste? Well, because of the predominant SL-28 heritage and the country’s unique washing technique, along with high altitudes and iron-rich soils, great Kenyan coffees possess a unique, striking fruitiness. Intense notes of raspberry, blackberry, and lemon are not uncommon, but the quintessential Kenyan fruit characteristic is blackcurrant. This intense fruitiness is frequently accompanied by a deeply savory umami characteristic, which sometimes evokes descriptors of sundried tomatoes or steak. All this leaves the drinker with the impression that he or she has just tasted a great wine; in fact, some coffee tasters are known to describe perfect Kenyans as Grand Crus. -Peter
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WHAT'S NEW
FEATURED COFFEE
Teka FEBRUARY FEATURED COFFEE Muramvya, Burundi At 1,938 meters above sea level, Teka is one of the highest-altitude washing stations in Burundi and has received high marks for quality under the leadership of its forward-thinking production manager Cassien Nibaruta. Teka's careful processing of meticulously picked Bourbon, Mibirizi, and Jackson cultivars results in a superbly balanced cup redolent with sweet notes of citrus, raspberry, and fine black tea. View Map.
$11.55
$10.55 You Save: $1.00(per 12 oz bag) |