kenya coffee tasting notes

In fact, the 23 Kenya samples that rated 90 or better often provoked rather repetitive key descriptors: deep, pungent, sweetly tart; black currant, dark chocolate, various citrus notes, hints of flowers. The challenge comes somewhere in the heart of a pungent, twisty, sometimes dry, sometimes tart fruit. Copyright © 2020 Coffee Review. Kenyan coffee is 100% Arabica. This is one of our favorite coffees of all time! From each of the two groups, I was able to pick my favorite coffee setting. One thing that can be said about this month’s survey of 32 Kenya coffees from 26 specialty roasters is that the good samples — and there were many — were not just exceptional, but exceptional in a thoroughly Kenyan way. An intensely sweet and fruity aroma hints at the citrus and berry flavor notes to come. Enter your email address below to receive our free e-mail newsletter. Kenneth Davids is the co-founder and editor of Coffee Review as well as its primary cupper and writer. These qualities are all true of our Kenya coffee. This one has everything that you could want or expect from a Kenya AA coffee. Today, we are tasting the new Caffe Molinari IL CAFFÈ Riserva Kenya Coffee Beans with both Chemex and Espresso Machine. Slurping sprays the coffee across Colombia is one of the most widely known coffee producing nation, and is usually the first place to pop into people’s heads when growing regions are brought up. The 92-rated Abundancia Kenya Blue Mountain Ruita I AA also was unusual in a couple of other respects: It came from the little-known Kisii or Gusii growing district in southwestern Kenya, near Lake Victoria, and was imported and roasted for the American market in Portland by a Kenyan farming family. Kenya will be the first African country to host the elite Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Festival this year showcasing speciality coffees and ergonomic teas Filed Under: Africa, Tasting Reports Tagged With: featured. With the exception of Belize, Central America as a whole is a large contributor to the global coffee supply, and along with its southerly neighbor Colombia, coffee from this region of the world is what has most informed the North American coffee-drinking preferences and habits. They usually have a body that is full or medium. Coffee from Kenya is typically acidic in flavor due to the soil in its central highlands. It’s good to start by reading the tasting notes on the side of the bag of coffee beans, flavors like vanilla, blueberry, chocolate or lemon are all not uncommon. — Tasting Notes Grapefruit, lemon zest acidity, cinnamon, pear. You could say that this month’s best Kenyas, particularly those reviewed here at 92 or better, all express in varying ways a sort of paradox, a simultaneous lush seduction and invigorating challenge. It definitely lives up to all our anticipation, with all of the Kenyan Arabica Coffee typical characteristics: light bodied, balanced with lingering floral fragrance. Mar 26, 2018 - We take a taste trip to Kenya and revel in its citric aroma. On the other hand, the distinctive and crucial character of the old, Bourbon-derived, Kenya-naturalized SL28 and SL34 varieties appears to be supported by this cupping. We’re inspiring partners (employees) and customers to get involved in their communities. Kenya AA is the finest grade of coffee from Kenya, and the easiest to find. Kenyan arabica is acidic and with notes of blackcurrant, while Ethiopian cultivars are floral and delicate. In fine Kenyas, the black currant can be the center of a constellation that includes sweet tomato notes and various citrus suggestions like tangerine and blood orange. In fact, it's a terrific iced coffee … The coffee producing countries are commonly organized into three large regions: Latin America, Africa / Arabia, and Asia / Pacific. Daina (fellow Q grader at Taylor Winch) and I started tasting our way along the bench, from low grades to high grade Specialty Kenyans, including the traceable AB Lena that we use for our Greystoke blend. On the other hand, one top-rated coffee among those reviewed here came from a mix of varieties, none of which was SL28 or SL34. © 2019 Starbucks Coffee Company. Kenya. represent just 263 total hectares of coffee land. [02.] Coffee is a complex beverage: more than 1,000 chemicals affect the aromas and flavors, creating cups that vary between sweet and sour, delicate to dense, nutty to fruity. This paradox of sweet seduction and invigorating pungency is what makes classic Kenyas particularly attractive to aficionados and dedicated black coffee drinkers, less so perhaps to casual coffee drinkers. He passed the Coffee Quality Institute’s challenging Q-grading exam and holds a Level One Roaster Certification from Roasters Guild of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Nearly all of the high-rated samples tested for this month’s article were attributed mainly to trees of these two celebrated varieties, though often with an admission that there was also a little Ruiru 11 in the mix. As part of the traditional coffee cupping method, called "breaking the crust", the grounds are agitated to release trapped vapors allowing the cupper note the coffees unique characteristics. Prompted by the recent interest among producers worldwide in exploring distinctive-tasting coffee varieties, SL28 has been planted elsewhere in the coffee world, although not enough of it has reached the market to judge how well it maintains its character in terroirs other than those in south-central Kenya. Kenyan Coffee Brands Most coffee farmers are smallholders. All rights reserved. If you’re noticing undesirable tastes such as bitterness or grassiness then that’s usually (but not always) the sign of a poor brew and you should look at changing the extraction of your brew. Tasting Notes: Kenya @ George Howell Coffee. September 4, 2015 by Kenneth Davids with Jason Sarley. Kenyan coffee will usually have a very bright and acidic taste, coupled with a pleasant full body. Even Fairtrade still import green coffee and roast and grind it making their money in the UK. All Rights Reserved. Nevertheless, there is plenty of seduction in all of this month’s reviewed coffees, starting with the very distinctive, yet balanced and complete, Giv COFFEE Embu Gakui Peaberry and Willoughby’s Kenya AA Kigwandi Estate, both topping this month’s ratings at 95. How much do you know about Kenya? The acidity levels of Tanzania coffee are slightly muted compared to Kenyan coffee, are also less consistent with a milder body. Distinctive coffee origins like Kenya don’t so much display single dominating notes as they do dominating tendencies. Cup your hand over the coffee, hold the cup close to your nose and inhale. At a Clover Coffee tasting, I was given a form with different criteria to judge: sweetness, flavor, body and finish. Photography Subjects. Typically Kenyan brews are thin in body with a fragrant aroma and biting aftertaste. Two coffee fungus diseases, leaf rust and coffee berry disease (CBD), have been particularly destructive in Kenya over recent decades – Kenya lost 50% of its coffee crop to CBD in 1968. A long bench of coffee samples was ready so it was time to taste. Your tongue distinguishes only four tastes: salty, sweet, bitter and sour—but your nose can detect thousands of smells. The central highlands are at the perfect altitude for growing coffee, and the equatorial climate is ideal too. Most recently I did a pu’er tea tasting. The membership of this F.C.S. 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