KENYA KIAMBARA

Located on the equator on Africa’s east coast, Kenya has been described as “the cradle of humanity”.

Kenya’s topography is incredibly diverse. The country is a land of mountains, valleys, open plains, deserts, forests, lakes, savannahs and a golden sanded coastline. With its scenic beauty and abundant ildlife, Kenya is one of Africa’s major safari destinations. Coffee was introduced to Kenya by the British with seeds from neighbouring Ethiopia and also from Reunion (Bourbon) island.

The country’s best coffees are grown in the Central Highlands on the southern slopes of Mt. Kenya to the north and in the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains to the west. The fertile volcanic soils create almost unbelievable flavours that can be found within the cup.

The Kiamabara factory is located in the town of Kabare in the Gichugu division of the Nyeri district in Central Province. It is affiliated to the Mugaga cooperative society along with the Kagumoini, Kieni, Gathugu and Gatina factories. It was established in 1995 following the split of the much larger Mathira F.C.S.

The area has deep, well-drained and fertile red volcanic soil at altitudes of around 1900 metres above sea level with 953mm of rainfall annually. The coffee is handpicked by the smallholder members and delivered to the Kiamabara factory where it is pulped.

The development of hybrids during the 1930s brought about the highly successful varietals, SL28 and SL34 – coffees that are now world famous and highly admired for their wonderful complexity in the cup with unrivalled lemony acidity.

SL28
This varietal was created by Scott Laboratories as botanists searched for different mutations of Bourbon and Typica. It has copper coloured leaves and its beans are broad. It is native to Kenya and is relatively low yielding, however the cup qualities are highly sought after. Characteristics can include intense lemon acidity, great sweetness, balance and complexity.

SL34
SL34 was created as a mutation between Bourbon and Typica. It differs to SL28 as it has bronze tipped leaves. This could perhaps mean it has greater similarity to the Typica varietal. SL34 is known to be fairly resistant to heavy rainfall at high altitudes and produces top quality coffee with complex citrus acidity and a heavy mouthfeel.

This coffee has been scored 86.25 on the Q grade scale by our in-house Q grader.

This score signifies a EXCELLENT speciality coffee as per the SCAA (Speciality Coffee Association of America) Cupping Protocols.