Product Overview
Region: Kambu County
Altitude: 1,500 – 1,800 m.a.s.l.
Variety: SL-28, Ruiru 11, Batian, SL-34
Processing: washed
At Steampunk we work to showcase the best coffees we can find from each origin every harvest year. In the case of Kenya, this is a nearly impossible task because there are just so many amazing lots. The baseline for an exceptional Kenyan coffee is higher than almost any other producing country and this year we’ve got one that can hold its own among the best. It’s remarkably complex and distinctive with layers of herbal and floral notes piling on top of elegant berry acidity and jammy sweetness. This coffee just does not quit. We taste juicy red currant, fresh raspberry, elderflower, lemongrass, rhubarb and blackcurrant.
Coffee production and sale in Kenya is well established and carefully organised. The farmers are almost all smallholders who sell their cherries to wet mills, or factories, as they’re called in Kenya. The traditional auction system for buying and selling coffee in Kenya means that quality is rewarded with higher prices. The better factories attract farmers by producing coffees that earn the highest prices, which they return to the farmers in the form of a second payment. In this way, the entire coffee economy is set up to improve quality.
In addition, there’s a high level of economic transparency in the Kenyan coffee market. Factories carefully separate coffee into small lots and different grades to maximise profitability. If a buyer wants to secure a lot through what’s known as “the second window,” directly from the factory without having to bid at auction, the expected price is above the average current auction price. It’s clear exactly how much profit is being made by the factory, and how much is being paid back to farmers in the second payment. In fact, many of the more serious societies and factories are competing, getting cherries in from the same areas, and are putting effort and pride into paying the highest returns to their farmers.
Altitude: 1,500 – 1,800 m.a.s.l.
Variety: SL-28, Ruiru 11, Batian, SL-34
Processing: washed
At Steampunk we work to showcase the best coffees we can find from each origin every harvest year. In the case of Kenya, this is a nearly impossible task because there are just so many amazing lots. The baseline for an exceptional Kenyan coffee is higher than almost any other producing country and this year we’ve got one that can hold its own among the best. It’s remarkably complex and distinctive with layers of herbal and floral notes piling on top of elegant berry acidity and jammy sweetness. This coffee just does not quit. We taste juicy red currant, fresh raspberry, elderflower, lemongrass, rhubarb and blackcurrant.
Coffee production and sale in Kenya is well established and carefully organised. The farmers are almost all smallholders who sell their cherries to wet mills, or factories, as they’re called in Kenya. The traditional auction system for buying and selling coffee in Kenya means that quality is rewarded with higher prices. The better factories attract farmers by producing coffees that earn the highest prices, which they return to the farmers in the form of a second payment. In this way, the entire coffee economy is set up to improve quality.
In addition, there’s a high level of economic transparency in the Kenyan coffee market. Factories carefully separate coffee into small lots and different grades to maximise profitability. If a buyer wants to secure a lot through what’s known as “the second window,” directly from the factory without having to bid at auction, the expected price is above the average current auction price. It’s clear exactly how much profit is being made by the factory, and how much is being paid back to farmers in the second payment. In fact, many of the more serious societies and factories are competing, getting cherries in from the same areas, and are putting effort and pride into paying the highest returns to their farmers.
