KENYA ENDEBESS | May 2024
This May we are serving up a Bean of the Month from an origin all coffee lovers adore – Kenya. The Kenya Endebess is bursting with flavours of stone fruit and brown sugar and when we’ve tried it in our flat whites and lattes, it tastes just like a warm slice of peach crumble!
As a black coffee there’s a blood orange note which adds a liveliness to the cup, balancing the sweet flavours with clarity and brightness. This naturally processed coffee is a gem from one of the great African coffee nations.
COFFEE ORIGIN
Country: Kenya
Region: Tranz-Nzoia
Estate: Endebess
Varietals: SL 28, SL 34, Batian, Ruiru 11
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1,600 – 1,800 m above sea level.
Coffee has been grown on the Endebess Estate since the 1940s. This farmland in the foothills of Mt Elgon lies in the Rift Valley, a tectonic crack running down the East of Africa, creating a dramatic landscape of jagged mountains and freshwater lakes, rivers and springs.
The old volcanic soil is perfect for coffee growing and every year between February and April Endebess Estate is swathed is a sea of fragrant white coffee blossoms, signalling the start of the cherry growing season.
By October the fruit are ripening to a deep reddish purple colour: ready to be hand-picked and sorted, before being laid out to dry in the sun in the natural processing method.
The beans are turned every few hours to ensure they dry evenly, and carefully covered to protect them from the extreme heat of the midday sun, and the nighttime chill. After around a month of drying, the beans are washed in the freshwater of the Koitobos River, before being finally milled and packed for sale.
TASTING NOTES & CUPPING PROFILE
Our cupping table loved this naturally processed twist on classical Kenyan flavours. The aromatics were the first sign of something new and exciting, giving us a heavy vanilla fragrance where we’d often expect florals. We picked up some stone fruit notes, which delivered strongly in the cup.
Peach, plum and apricot combined with brown sugar for a delicious jammy sweetness, and a bright pop of blood orange delivered the trademark vibrancy we love Kenyan coffee for. Medium bodied, with a grape-like acidity, the Kenya Endebess closes with a smooth chocolate and nut finish.
Flavour: brown sugar, stone fruit, blood orange
Aroma: vanilla, stone fruit
Acidity: grape
Body: medium
Aftertaste: chocolate, nuts
Cupping Score: 85/100.
BREW GUIDE
Put what you think you know about Kenyan coffee out of your head, because this isn’t your traditional double fermented Kenyan washed coffee which sits on that acetic acid vibrancy/sourness knife’s edge.
This is a juicy, jammy, fruit bonbon of a coffee, and you can use your favourite tricks to amp up acidity without fear of too much tang.
So if you’re choosing some light roast Kenya Endebess for filter coffee, maybe coarsen up the grind a touch to slow down the extraction rate and get a little more juiciness. If you are having your beans ground in store and don’t want to risk the whole bag on a new grind, try increasing the water temperature by a degree or so instead.
Espressoheads are going to love this one, it’s a dream to pull. So much sugar and great cleanliness for a natural, it’s gorgeous as a shot and even better when restricted, especially if you’re making a long black.
Milk coffee drinkers, and plant milk fans will love the balance and chocolate finish, and the peach crumble flavour of a Kenya Endebess latte has to be tasted to be believed.
