Artisan Roast - Kii Peaberry - Kenya

Kii factory is one of three secondary processing units that form the larger Rung’eto FCS Society that also includes the Kiangoi factory that proved so popular last year. The farmer small holdings that supply this factory are spread around the town of Kerugoya, in Embu County, almost directly south of the imposing Mount Kenya. As is common throughout Kenya, most producers in the co-operative own a few hundred coffee trees and they deliver ripe red cherry from these trees into a central co-operative washing station, like Kii, for further processing.

Whilst the neighbouring county, Nyeri, has developed an enviable reputation over the years for producing stellar coffees, the continued legal battles running since 2014 have meant that Nyeri coffees are very hard to source down to individual processing unit. Forced to search elsewhere for great coffees, we have been returned again to the coffees of Kirinyaga and this lot from Kii is a real gem with an intensity of flavour and complexity of acidity that truly sparkles.

We have roasted this coffee light to preserve the intense citric and apple like acidity. Flavours are many - for us the stand out ones are fresh zesty grapefruits, blackcurrant, cranberry and a sweet, syrupy melon finish. This sweetness of the Kii, is due in part to this being a peaberry selection from the factory. Peaberries are essentially an aborted seed on the coffee tree but often yield a cup profile with more balance than the standard grades. This is particularly true of Kenya where the higher perceived sweetness brings the acidity into harmony. We find this is very true of coffees from Kii where it's classic dominant grapefruit note is balanced so well with blackcurrant flavours.