Kenya Karani AA

Coffee overview

Throughout a passionate coffee-drinker's journey, there are coffees which leave a lasting impression -- that get talked about for years to come. One such early experience for me was my first coffee from Kirinyaga. This was probably 2008-2009ish, and was very early in my roasting and sourcing career. The coffee was exceptional -- zippy, tart, intense, and deeply sweet. The combination of intensity and sweetness have had me chasing these impressions ever since. We can never really know if something new stands up to the memory of something old. We put these past experiences on pedestals. This provides us a reason to keep chasing, and an excuse when expectations were not met. On the other hand, coffee as a whole continues to improve every year, and we are fortunate to have so much stunning and excellent coffee right now that it's hard for any one bag to elevate itself so much from the rest of the pack. All this to say, Karani AA is a superb Kenyan coffee, with exceptional attributes. It is clean, tart, and refreshing. Is it a pedestal coffee? Maybe, for the right person. Enjoy this beginning to Kenya season, as we have two more excellent lots coming behind it.

Coffee flavor profile

Green grape, raspberry, blackberry.

Acidity: tartaric
Sweetness: juicy
Body: tart

Brewing evaluation

Rest: 30+ days recommended

Filter eval day 1: Gabi Standard Recipe of 1:18 shows a vibrant, tart cup which exudes the best qualities of a Kenya coffee. Clean throughout with plenty of tartness. Slightly reduced sweetness at this ratio.

We use 60 hardness, 20 buffer water heated to 198F in all of our recipes.

Information

Factory: Karani
Producer: multiple smallholder farmers
Region: Kirinyaga
Country: Kenya
Variety: SL-28 field blend
Process: Washed
Sourcing: Falcon Coffees