While we've had the pleasure of enjoying many coffees from the Thiriku Cooperative over the years, it is only the second one roasted by our friends at Rosetta Roastery. You can read more about their reasons for choosing to source coffees from this cooperative below. Among the important ones are transparent buying practices that better reward the farmers.

The Thiriku Cooperative is in the Nyeri County of Kenya, a coffee-growing region that is recognised the world over for the quality of the specialty coffee it produces. Kenyan specialty producers have a reputation for meticulous processing and quality-grading practices, which is what has helped the coffees command significant prices at the end of the supply chain. We fully support efforts that ensure that more of that value is transferred back to the growers.

Phaedon's tasting

This lot of Thiriku coffee beans was surprisingly different from previous lots that I remember, though no less enjoyable. I was struck by the relative subtlety of the acidity. It wasn't one of those crazy bright coffees that specialty coffee lovers come to recognise as quintessentially Kenyan. Still, it had plenty of those dark berry flavours that one might expect, and a luxurious, syrupy sweetness, not to mention a full body. I also found a hint of that tannic, winey quality one finds in high-quality Kenyans on the finish.

I particularly appreciated this coffee in immersion brews like my French press and siphon, where I also detected some hints of ripe stone fruit, sometimes peach and sometimes cherry. It also made a lovely V60 pour-over.

Rosetta's notes

Style: Progressive
Flavour profile: Rounded, currant, rooibos, light molasses

Kenyan coffee is one of the best examples of Strictly High Grown (SHG) / Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) coffee. SHG coffee is grown at altitudes 1,200m ASL and above, the high elevation resulting in slower cherry development and some extremely dense beans.

The initial ‘soak’ throughout the ramp key, making sure the heat penetrates all the way to the centre of the bean to avoid underdevelopment. Extracting these sought-after notes of blackcurrant and highlighting the incredibly vibrant acidity is a requisite in doing justice to the region. We push heat heartily to the first crack and try to maintain a steadily declining rate of rise following the endothermic spike.

Coffee details

Over the past few years, many growers in Kenya have left the industry, low prices and late payments being the main cause of discouraged growers. In spite of the high prices paid for Kenyan coffees, most of this has historically not reached the producers, certainly not in a timely manner. Most of Kenya's coffee exporters are affiliated with large European buyers creating an unofficial oligopoly.

Trabocca is changing all this. They're partnering with co-operatives like Thiriku, paying double the going rate for coffee, helping guarantee cash flow at important times (such as fertilising season) as well as helping improve agricultural practice and providing humanitarian aid in the community.

This push towards a more sustainable value chain in Kenya is vital in order to maintain - and improve - the distinctive cup profile we treasure so much!

• Producers: The Thiriku Cooperative
• Region: Tetu, Nyeri County, Central Region
• Country: Kenya
• Variety: SL28
• Altitude: 1880m - 1970m ASL
• Processing: Washed
• Harvest: 2021/2022