Tasting notes: In a lighter roast (Breeze), tart notes of lime, lemongrass, and berry-like sweetness are prevalent. In a medium roast (Gale), a spicy chocolate character develops with hints of citrus; and in a dark roast (Storm), bakers chocolate and luscious spice predominate with little to no acidity evident.
*Peaberries, by the way, are formed from a natural mutation of 1 seed/cherry rather than the usual 2 flat-fronted seeds/cherry which grow facing inwards with their rounded ‘backs’ facing outward. Since peaberries aren’t sharing the cherry with a sibling, they appear larger and rounder than typical beans. Peaberries are sorted and separated during post-harvest by a sieve from other beans. Some believe that the peaberry has a superior flavor, since the nutrients aren’t split with another bean, and that they offer more concentrated flavors in a cup. Our own experience with these peaberries and all the coffees we offer, is that they are all delicious and unique in their own way, most likely due to their high quality, growth at higher altitudes in cooler temperatures, and attention to quality and best-farming practices. Try it and see if you can suss out the subtle differences between the beans!
Before and even after Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963, coffee cultivation was limited to select individuals, while stringent rules forbade smallholders from consuming their own crop. However, in recent years, ownership has evolved to include individual families, corporations and groups of Kenyon shareholders.
The Muiri Estate is owned by a local family. Since there is no mechanization on a farm of this size, harvest requires a huge labor force. They have established a community for staff and set aside land for families to grow other crops for food as well. They are intercropping their 150,000+ coffee trees with over 90,000 other trees of multiple species for shade to enhance biodiversity. Having been organically certified since 2008 the estate is dedicated to organic coffee cultivation which benefits the coffee, the land and the people through environmentally safe farming practices, enhanced quality and sustainability.
These beans are grown between 4,600 and 4,650 feet in elevation.
