tangy citrus juices like mandarin and pink grapefruit, aromatic spices of cardamom and Earl Grey, sweetness that’s transparent and clean, and vibrant lemon-like acidity.
Ngugu-ini is a green coffee “Factory” located in the Kirinyaga district, just across the border from Nyeri. Factories are basically what we call a wet mill, or washing station, a local station where farmers bring coffee cherry fruit for processing in Kenya. These Factories are cooperatives made up by local coffee farmers in the surrounding villages, most of which have tiny plots of coffee, less than 1 hectare in size.
Ngugu-ini is part of the Kibirigwi Cooperative Society (“FCS”), an umbrella of 8 Kirinyaga coops in total, and serving more than 7,000 coffee farmers (Ngugu-ini has 1,200 members). AA, AB and Peaberry separations are made from a single day’s harvest, and are merely separations of different bean size range. AA are the largest, and command the highest premiums, but we’re never really sure which will shine brightest. In the case of this coffee, we didn’t get to taste the AB and Peaberry separations, but were floored by the vibrance and complex matrix of flavor found in this AA.
Wow, this AA Kenya is a total powerhouse, receiving very high marks for it’s delicious, complex flavor profile. The ground coffee has floral citrus notes, potent tea-like hints, and an underlying sweetness that’s exceptionally fragrant. The aroma after pouring hot water raises a culmination of orange juice, brown sugar, and mulling spice in the steam. The cup delivers so many of the flavor notes that come to mind when I think “Kenya coffee”. The cup is loaded with outlier flavor notes that quite frankly are un-like most coffees, and what has put Kenyan coffee in a league of their own. As complex as the cup may be, the acidic impression does a good job lining them all up, and has a vibrant lemon quality to it (note: acidity scores 9.2, so expect ‘bright’!).
- Origin: Kenya
- Region: Kirinyaga
- Washing Station: Ngugu-ini
- Co-op: Kibirigwi Cooperative Society
- Altitude: 1300-1900m
- Cultivar: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru-11
- Processing: Wet Process (Washed)
- Drying: Raised Bed Sun-Dried
- Grade: AA
- Sourcing: Sweet Maria’s