Kenya Muranga New Kiriti Gondo AB

The last Kenya AA we received from the Gondo washing station was phenomenal, so we thought we'd pick up the AB version as well! The cups are very similar since this is the same crop, just slightly smaller. Maybe just a bit less "intense" than the AA version! Great balance, slightly tangy with a dry finish. Notes of ripe red grapefruit, milk chocolate and malt with a herbaceous undertone.

Arrival Date: August 17th, 2021

Acidity & Brightness: Slightly tangy & jammy

Balance & Finish: Great balance, dry finish 

Body & Texture: Full, rich bodied, syrupy texture

Flavors: Red grapefruit, malt, milk chocolate, herbaceous

Grade: AB

Processing: Fully Washed, hand picked, sun dried on raised tables

Varietals: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 & Batian

Roasting:  Start with a City + (Light-medium) and feel free to try Full City (Medium). Kenyan coffees are famous for their crisp acidity and dark roasting will mute that. However, if you prefer, this coffee may be carried into a Full City Plus and still retain a lot of body and some of it's brightness. This coffee roasts very evenly.

Reminder: This Coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing

Our Review: "Gondo and its sister washing stations are in a unique pocket of Kenya. Western Muranga County runs directly into the upland Aberdare Mountain range on rich red volcanic soil ideal for producing some of Kenya’s best coffees. Muranga is an oblong county that sits between the industrious Kiambu County, to the south, and the most famous coffee counties of Kenya’s central province: Nyeri, Kirinyaga, and Embu, to the north. The Aberdare range contributes significant climate influence over this part of Muranga, keeping the vegetation cooler and well-respirated, the way Mt. Kenya impacts its neighboring regions to the north. The Gondo processing station, or “factory”, as they’re known in Kenya, is one of three sites managed by the New Kiriti Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS), an umbrella organization that centralizes management and marketing relationships for their member factories. Kenya is of course known for some of the most meticulous at-scale processing that can be found anywhere in the world. Bright white parchment, nearly perfectly sorted by density and bulk conditioned at high elevations is the norm and a matter of pride. At Gondo, cherry is hand-sorted for ripeness and floated for density before accepted and depulped each day. After the coffee is washed, it’s soaked in fresh water for long periods of time to stop sugar fermentation and clean the parchment. The coffee is dried over a period of two weeks on raised beds, which are carefully constructed to ensure proper air circulation and temperature control for optimal drying." - Royal Coffee

We recently received the AA version of this crop and it was downright phenomenal! The AB version, being a simply a slightly smaller bean, is a very similar cup, maybe slightly less "intense". Kenyan coffee sorting focuses mostly on a lot containing beans of very similar size in order to produce a consistently roasted product and has little bearing on the quality of the beans. AA beans are the second largest screen size at a 17/18 screen (out of 20) while AB beans are the third largest at a screen of 15/16. Try this one and see if you think the cup is significantly different or about the same! It's got a syrupy texture and big body along with excellent balance. There's a delightful red grapefruit and plum tangy-ness on the front end rounded out by sweet malted milk chocolate and something herbaceous and savory I can't quite put my finger on...oregano? Bergamot? I dunno but it's delicious! The finish is fairly dry though not as tannic as many Kenyan coffees. While I'm reminded of red wine, this coffee doesn't feel "winey".