Kevote AA - Colombia, Onyx | 283g

BLACKBERRY PAPAYA RAW SUGAR ORANGE

Origin: Kenya
Elevation: 1600msl
Variety: Sl28, Sl34, Ruiru 11
Process: dry washed

Dry Washed
This washed coffee is depulped and fermented dry for twenty-four hours, followed by channel washing. The parchment coffee is then dried for approximately fifteen days on raised beds. The processing impact in the final cup is light, with flavor indicating few signs of fermentation within the overall cup profile.

Kevote Factory, owned by Kirurumwe Farmers' Society in Makengi, Embu County, processes coffee from 1,300 farmers and is one of three factories run by the society, which manages 25% of smallholder coffee production in the region. Located in stunning Embu County, the scenic drive leads uphill all the way from the capital of Nairobi, past the seemingly never ending pineapple plantation, into the coffee growing regions of Kenya. Within just two counties, you'll find a unbelievable array of coffees, ranging from commodity grade large lots to 88+ single-estate coffees. We have long loved Kenya for its range in quality and within, its cup profiles. This coffee stood out to us for its layered notes of berries, diverging from the often citric-forward acidity that Kenya has transitioned into.

KENYA PROCESS
In the Kenya process, first, the cherries are sorted, and under-ripe/overripe cherries are removed. Once the sorting is finished, the coffee is then depulped. This is done by squeezing the cherry through a screen and removing the fruit and skin from the bean. The coffee is then left to ferment in white ceramic tiled tanks for 24 hours. Next, the coffee is stirred for a short amount of time and left to ferment for another 24 hours. After two days of dry fermentation, the coffee is washed with fresh water, removing the sticky mucilage attached to the beans that are loosened by bacteria during the fermentation. It’s then soaked in water to ferment overnight slightly. The coffee goes through sorting and density channels, which separates the lots, and then it is taken to raised beds to dry. Once it reaches 11.5-12% moisture content, the coffee is brought to conditioning bins to rest until it goes to the dry mill.

Once a coffee has been processed, dried, and then milled, it goes to a sorter that separates the beans by specific characteristics, mainly size. Coffee goes into a machine that vibrates, sending beans through different screens with different-sized holes and sorts the coffee based on size and density. This results in a more uniform coffee and cup profile. Then the coffees are auctioned based on the grade (size & density) they have.

AA (screen size 17 & 18)
The largest and most celebrated grade of Kenyan coffee. Usually the highest priced coffee on the auction from each outturn and factory. AA is the most common grade we buy and what we normally expect from an outstanding Kenya cup.

AB (screen size 15 & 16)
This grade represents about 30% of Kenya production. While AB is usually considered lower quality than AA, we find that to not be accurate in the cup. Over the years of cupping, we have consistently found incredible AB’s that actually cup better than their more prestigious AA relatives, enforcing the idea that everything must be cupped and not have its value determined based on classification or reputation.

PB (Peaberry)
Peaberries represent about 10% of Kenya production. They are a result of a coffee cherry only producing one bean instead of two. Technically they are fused together during early stages and form one round bean instead of two half spheres. We tend to notice more fermentation tasting notes here. Winey, syrupy, and mouth coating are some of the attributes that we usually notice in the cup.

OTHER SIZES
E (large Peaberries & large chipped beans)
C (screen size 14 & 15)
TT (falls through 14)
T (small or broken pieces of beans