East Africa

This month, we’re sharing some of our first fresh arrivals from East Africa. Coffees from this part of the world are iconic in our industry for so many reasons. They are often some of the most flavour intense and distinctive coffees we enjoy each year, and for many hold a special place in their heart as their first big coffee experience, the moment they ‘caught the bug’. 

For all they are often spoken of in the same breath, Ethiopia and Kenya are rather different origins; Ethiopia is famous as the genetic home of coffee, while coffee was introduced to neighbouring Kenya by French missionaries much more recently. According to popular legend, coffee was discovered in Ethiopia in the 9th Century AD, and a myriad of ‘heirloom’ varietals still grow in their native forests across the country, and over the border into what is now South Sudan. 

These traditional methods of cultivation have persisted, in many cases fairly undisturbed by modern agricultural techniques. For this reason, it could be argued that Ethiopian coffees are the most pure expression of native coffee flavour.

Coffee was introduced into Kenya by French missionaries in the late 18th century, a difference of over 900 years. The French brought seeds from their colony on Reunion, at that point known as the Bourbon islands. Seeds taken from these islands are the predecessor to modern Bourbon, and some very old trees in Kenya are known as French Mission Bourbon. Selections were then made from these seeds by Scottish missionaries in the 1930’s, mainly looking for drought resistance and hardiness to the tough Kenyan conditions. The Scottish Missionaries, led by Henry Scott, started Scott Laboratories, which would later become the Kenyan National Agricultural Laboratories, or NARL. Their 28th iteration, known as SL28, became ubiquitous across Kenyan coffee lands until the advent of modern hybrid varietals. The SL28 varietal, combined with the fertile volcanic soils and high altitudes of the Mount Kenya region, leads to the archetypal Kenyan profile, with intense red fruit notes.

Kamwangi

The small region in Kirinyaga that the Kamwangi station serves, surrounding the village of Ngariama, is mainly a tea-growing area, so most of the coffee plant stock is rather new. The region is known for very high quality of both tea and coffee; being planted somewhat later than neighbouring regions means soils haven’t been tired out by years of conventional agriculture, with its sprays and chemical fertiliser. 

We have visited the region several times, most recently in February of this year. Here, it is clear to witness the density of both coffee and tea plantation in the lush green landscape, enabled by these rich volcanic soils. North Eastern Kirinyaga is home to some of our favourite Kenyan coffees; Kamwangi is run by the New Ngariama Farmer’s Cooperative Society, who also own the Kiamugumo and Kainamui stations, where we have purchased several lots in the past.

Over the past few years we have continually chosen coffees from this micro-region on blind cupping tables. We have continued our focus on this region this year. Also near to Ngariama are the Thirikwa cooperative, who own Gakuyuini, and the Rungeto Cooperative who own Kii, Kiangoi and Karimikui, also names very familiar to us at La Cabra. This tiny area continues to impress with its quality, much of the area was planted with coffee just before the rise of hybrid varietals in Kenya, meaning that 99% of the farmers that deliver to Kamwangi grow SL28 and SL34, with only about 1% using rust-resistant varietals like Ruiru 11 or Batian. 

Kamwangi is a typical Kirinyaga lot, with light and fresh berry notes backed up by sweet tea.

Gogogu

This washed lot was processed at SNAP Coffee’s washing station in the village of Wate Gogogu, located in the Uraga area of the Guji region. During our trip to Ethiopia in February, we cupped several tables of excellent coffees from this year’s harvest at SNAP’s headquarters in Addis Ababa. Coffee for this lot was delivered by smallholders surrounding the village, before undergoing washed processing with SNAP’s meticulous team. The conditions here in coffee’s genetic home are well-suited to growing high quality lots, with long dry spells during harvest, and high levels of sun intensity year round. This, along with fertile soils and bio-diverse eco-systems leads to some of the finest quality raw material we see in coffee, and requires minimal influence from processing to produce excellent cups. 

This lot from Wate Gogogu is no different, delivering on the typical Ethiopian white florals, and delicate citrus tea in the cup.

East African coffee is intrinsically tied to the high summer for us. The bright fruit notes and crisp fresh profiles are ones we look forward to each year, as we look forward to the brief and intoxicating weeks of Scandinavian sun at home in Denmark. These profiles are also well suited to brewing as iced coffee; perfect as the temperature rises. You can find iced brew guides on our website if you need some guidance.

We hope you enjoy both of these coffees hot or cold this month, wherever you are.