Kenya is one of the most celebrated coffee origins on the African continent, and it’s easy to figure out why. Between the famed expertise and dedication of Kenyan coffee farmers, the rigorous quality-control practices of Kenya’s coffee industry, and the Nairobi Coffee Exchange’s highly discerning screening process, you can be sure that the Kenyan coffee that ends up in your cup is of the highest quality in its category, whether it be commodity or specialty grade. Kenyan specialty coffees, particularly washed Kenyan coffees such as this one, are also famed for their often vibrant and complex flavour profiles, frequently offering bright, fruity notes that you can’t find elsewhere. 

This particular Kenyan coffee, roasted by our friends at Quaffee, comes from one of Kenya’s premier growing regions, Nyeri. Found in the country’s central highlands and nestled between Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Ranges, Nyeri boasts rich, volcanic soils, high altitudes, and a tropical climate, all of which make it the perfect region for growing high-quality and delicious coffee. The Nyeri farmers responsible for growing this coffee belong to the Othaya Farmers Co-operative Society, a famous Kenyan coffee cooperative founded in the mid 1950s which supports some 11,000 smallholding coffee farmers throughout Nyeri today. 

This coffee was processed at Karuthi Wet Mill, one of Othaya’s smaller mills, to which some 400 farmers typically contribute. Karuthi’s limited scale allows producers to pay closer attention to detail, ensuring top-quality lots which, combined with the mill’s Fairtrade certification, make for better prices in the international market. This particular coffee is a washed coffee, which means that the coffee cherry was fully pulped from the beginning of processing. Washed coffees are typically characterised by a clear, balanced flavour profile and a lighter body.

Othaya provides its farmers with access to critical coffee resources, like nurseries and processing facilities, and works to secure good prices for their coffee in the international market. This ensures fair wages for farmers, and also allows the cooperative to invest in its communities by supporting healthcare and infrastructure initiatives, and other, similar projects. 

Quaffee’s notes

• Taste profile: Dried apricot, vanilla, red grapefruit finish, medium body
• Roast used: What Quaffee calls a bump and kick, that shortens the development time by keeping the roast momentum going.
• Roast degree: Light
• Quaffee brews:
• Espresso: 1:2.3 (29 sec)
• AeroPress: 17.5g:200g
• Plunger: 48g:800g
• Pour-over/filter: 18g:300g

Coffee details from Quaffee

• Farmers: Around 400 smallholding coffee farmers
• Region: Nyeri, Central Highlands
• Country: Kenya
• Altitude: 1,845 masl
• Processing: Washed
• Species/Variety: SL28, SL34

Quaffee’s transparency information

• Sourced from: Falcon Specialty, via And Sons
• FOB price: $13.45
• Cupping score: 87 (And Sons), 84.5 (Quaffee)
• Lot size bought: 1 x 30kg boxes
• Relationship: Quaffee has had a close working relationship with And Sons since 2021. This is Quaffee’s first coffee from this cooperative.