Nguguini AA — Kenya / Washed Process

Origin

This coffee comes to us from the Kirinyaga County of Kenya, thanks to our importing partners at Sucafina Specialty and their local sister company, Kenyacof. This is the third Kenyan coffee we have ever roasted, and our first AA. Kenya has a unique grading system in which green beans are sorted first for their screen size (AA being the largest), and subsequently graded based on various factors such as varietal and altitude. While roasters argue over the qualities of Kenya AA vs Kenya AB, we can all agree that both are consistently impressive coffees.

Project

Kirinyaga County sits to the south of Mount Kenya, and is well known along with its neighbour Nyeri County for the quality and volume of its coffee production. Nguguini Factory (washing stations are referred to as factories in Kenya) belongs to the Kibirigwi Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS). Kibirigwi FCS is the second largest cooperative in Kirinyaga County, with eight washing stations and over 7200 members. Nguguini alone works with over 1200 coffee producers in the region, using the processing knowledge they have built since the factory’s construction in 1958.

Coffee

Kenyan coffees, specifically AA Kenyans, are well known for their distinctive flavour profiles. With every harvest, we know we can expect coffees that are full-bodied, incredibly juicy, and full of berries. This coffee is no exception, and on a cupping table full of AA Kenyans stood out to us as the most intricate and well rounded of the lot. The Nguguini AA is a perfect balance of classic blackberry and plum flavours, following bergamot aromatics and coming together with a texture that is as complex as it is comforting, and certainly one of the best ways to wake up on a cold Winter morning.