Kenya has a long-established relationship with coffee cultivation, and the East African nation’s coffees are known for their intense flavour and full body. Peaberry, or PB, is a phenomenon where, unlike the standard two flat seeds, PB cherries have a single, dense, pea-shaped seed. Their uniformly round shape allows for even turning inside a roaster’s drum, resulting in a more uniform roast profile. Not all producers separate out peaberries, which naturally occur in every coffee harvest, but in Kenya and some other countries, peaberries are isolated and sold as separate lots. The intensive selection process isolating PB cherries also ensures a high overall lot quality.

This Kenyan Peaberry coffee was grown within the mountainous region of Kirinyaga County. Nestled on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya at around 1,400 to 2,000 metres above sea level, a high altitude keeps temperatures cool and rainfall steady, which enables cherries to grow slowly and develop flavours unique to their terroir. Smallholder coffee farmers around Kirinyaga deliver their harvests to the Mwirua Farmers’ Cooperative Society at Karia-Ini.

This is a fully-washed lot consisting of SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian, the most common Kenyan varieties. After being depulped, cherries are soaked in cement tanks for 18 to 48 hours to break down any remaining mucilage. Karia-Ini is known to maintain strict sorting standards and has garnered a strong reputation for high quality beans.

Phaedon's tasting notes

This isn't your typical Kenyan specialty coffee but my friends at Quaffee don't tend to choose the typical Kenyans. In fact, Warren has always had a penchant for peaberries, at least in part because of how different they are to the AAs and ABs. They tend to be more muted in acidity, perhaps more balanced, and probably a bit more subtle. This is just such a coffee. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find any archetypical Kenyan characteristics in my tasting notes except perhaps some hints of stone fruit. In my best brews, I tasted molasses sweetness, a note of chocolate, or perhaps even some carob. Warren would definitely point out that this latter note is not on the SCA flavour wheel; sorry Warren. Regardless, I enjoyed this coffee most when brewed in my trusty siphon. If you have one, I would definitely check it out.

Quaffee’s notes

"Karia‑Ini Factory operates under the Mwirua Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga County. Around 507 smallholder farmers deliver cherry to this wet mill. Most farmers grow SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian on small plots, often intercropped with food crops.

"The factory sits at roughly 1,600 metres. At this height, cherries ripen slowly and develop sweetness and acidity in equal measure. Peaberries from this lot tend to show concentrated fruit character, especially blackcurrant, citrus, and red‑berry notes. A tea‑like finish often follows, shaped by the washed process."

• Taste profile: Peach, honey sweetness, nutty finish
• Body: Medium
• Roast used: What we call a bump and kick with a gentle ramp down from first crack
• Roast degree: Light – using my-tonino.com
• Quaffee brews:
• Espresso: 1:2.4 (27 sec)
• AeroPress: 17g:200g (finer)
• Plunger: 48g:800g
• Pour over/filter: 18g:300g (45 sec bloom, 3.5 total brewing time)

Coffee details from Quaffee

"A bright, fruit‑forward Kenyan peaberry from Kirinyaga with peach, honey sweetness, nutty finish. Slow maturation at 1,600 metres gives this lot clarity, sweetness, and strong structure."

• Region: Kirinyaga
• Country: Kenya
• Farmers: 507 smallholder members of Mwirua Cooperative
• Cultivars: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian
• Altitude: ~ 1,600 masl
• Processing: Fully-washed
• Packaging: GrainPro

Quaffee transparency details

• Source: Zuka Green Traders
• FOB price: $4.436
• Cupping score: 84 (Zuka)
• Producer: Mwirua Farmers’ Cooperative Society
• Lot size bought: 1 x 60kg bag
• Relationship: We have been purchasing coffee from Zuka Green since their inception