This delicious coffee scored an excellent 86.5 on the SCAA's grading system, making it one of the highest ranking coffees in the world. The judges commented on the aromatics and flavour notes of pineapple, blueberry rum and cherry. The coffee is processed using the natural dried method, which increases the natural fruitiness further. In an area with a reputation for excellence, Kiremaa has placed in Cup of Excellence previously, in 2019 gaining a place in the top ten. Eight of those top 10 were from Kayanza, the region Kiremaa is found in.
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffees are famed for their beautiful fragrance. The coffee taster's lexicon is used to it's full in striving to describe some of the aromatics that are glimpsed in the coffee's aroma, both roasted and brewed. One of perhaps the most unusual is that of black tea. Others include: tangerine, stone fruit, red currant, lime, raspberry lemonade, floral, lemon, sweet, lavender, jasmine, blueberry, blackberry, bergamot, apricot, almond, wildflowers. It might be a surprise to find that it still smells and tastes of coffee! The coffee grown in this lush, green, mountainous area at altitudes up to 8,000 feet is referred to as 'garden coffee' due to most of it being grown on small-holdings of less than 1 hectare producing something up to 5 sacks of coffee beans.
No collection of coffee would be complete without a prizewinning offering from Kenya. Recently, coffee from this co-operative won the Specialty Coffee Association's Blind Cupping Competition, scoring 98 out of 100. Some notes on the flavours when medium roasted included: Vibrant grape acidity, sugar cane sweetness, tropical fruit, pineapple, blackcurrant, mandarin, orange, nectarine, apricot, stone fruit, brown sugar, rhubarb, pink grapefruit, rose florals, lime, milk chocolate, nectarine, black tea, honey and fresh cherry. Our Kenya coffee is grown by the smallholder farmers of the Bisembe co-operative in Kisii County, a mountainous region of western Kenya famed for evergreen farms.
As with other fine African coffees, the coffee taster's lexicon is put to good use in describing the character. Notes of blackberry, baking spices, caramel, cranberry, raisins, berries, citrus, cream, lemon, strawberry, grapefruit, floral, cherry, vanilla, caramel, tangy orange, berry jam, lavender, honey, sweet black cherry and figs are described. Rwandan coffee is not mass produced as we know it in the west. It is known as the land of a thousand hills. Many farmers grow their produce on hillsides and within lush, untamed valleys on very smallholdings. This batch scored an incredible 87 judged by the Speciality Coffee Associatuon's independent coffee graders.
