Kenya Kiambu Peaberry - Riuki
Kenya Kiambu Peaberry - Riuki
Farm Description
Riuki is part of the Nyakiri Coffee Farmers Co-op. Society in Kiambu district of Kenya. We weren't able to visit Riuki or Nyariki when we were last in Kiambu, but have seen the nearby coops. This area is old coffee farming land, not far from Nairobi, which is why it is dominated by large coffee estates. Many of the estates here are held by multi-nationals and farm coffee using agribusiness techniques with an eye toward yield. That is why having a cooperative of small-holder farmers in the midst of Kiambu is special, and offers the members some better options than simply selling their coffee cherry to a mill at the day's going rate.
This coffee is part of our Farm Gate pricing program.Cupping Notes
This lot has a malty sweet scent in the dry fragrance, and the wet aroma has fruit juice notes, a bit of peach and apricot in the light roast. Ruiki Peaberry is certainly a bright coffee, especially in the unfettered lighter roast levels of City to City+ where the brightness has an electric fuzz tone quality to it. It has a sharp spicy accent, white pepper and cinnamon, lemon drop sweetness, and mandarin orange with a little strawberry-rhubarb. At Full City, there are plum and dark currant layers of fruit, behind a snappy citrusy alto note. There's a bit of pepper and a trace of clove in darker roast levels as well. The finish has a black tea tannic dryness when the roast is fresh, which tones down after several days of post-roast rest. In fact, after 5 days we re-cupped and had sweet grape/black currant jam sweetness in the finish, a classic Kenya mark of quality.
Score
Lot Size
Roast Recommendations
City+ to Full City. This coffee is bright and requires some development immediately after 1st crack to balanced acidity and roast flavor. But darker levels tend to mute the wonderful fruit and spice too much.Processing
Varietal
Grade & Appearance
Packaging
 Ruiru 11 shrubs..jpg)
Comments
#1 Thoughts on the Riuki PB
I roasted the Riuki PB and set it aside to rest for a couple of days. After opening it and making it by press, Chemex, and vac, I decided I had roasted it a bit dark and had bypassed some of the fruit, so I roasted again, pulling it slightly sooner and set it aside to rest.
While resting, a local coffee shop tweeted that they had some Square Mile coffee for a very limited time, so a couple of us loaded up in the car to go have some. When we got there, we found that it was the Kenya Kiambara (sp?). It was like a slap in the face with a handful of apricot preserves. Lingered on the palate literally for over an hour.
I think that the Kiambara skewed my palate, or at least my preference, being that I have not had or roasted a Kenya in quite some time. So when I came back to the Riuki, I had this flavor profile in my head and unfairly tasted it (without realizing at the time) in comparison with the Kiambara. I personally love really extreme coffees, and the Riuki is "milder" for lack of a better term. than the Kiambara. Turns out, my head barista's preferences run akin to my own, and he felt a bit underwhelmed as well.
The next day, I realized the comparative nature of the previous day's tasting and revisited the Riuki with a clear head and fresh palate and found it delightful. I prepared by Chemex with a 34g dose to 500ml of water. Even at grinding it, a heady cloud of fruit and cream wrapped around my head. As the brew cooled slightly, I found a very pronounced sensation of apricot custard with a mild lemon gelee. On cooling further, the acidity peaked and kicked out a fine dark stonefruit undercurrent that built throughout the rest of the cup. Very nice and pretty easy to get the roast dialed in.
#2 Interesting ...
I am really curious how that Kiamabara was roasted. We have 2 lots of Kiamabara in vacuum pack at SM this year as well, PB and AA. Yet to be launched. For Nyeri coffees, they are more on the balanced side, then the screaming bright citrus. It might be roast curve and degree of roast...Square Mile is on the light side (James sent some espresso blends and they were really light and really nice as well). _Tom
#3 Kiamabara - I think I love you.
It was a gentle roast to be sure. It still had some uneven color it was so light, but not having worked with it, that may be misleading as to degree of roast. I would call it at somewhere between City and a City+. Really powerful in the cup - I mean REALLY powerful. I had it Chemexed at 28 g to 450ml. Strong and clearly pronounced peach and apricot with a twinge of spice, but not like fresh fruit. More like a cider, so the fruit was kind of darkened, but as it cooled a citrus zing rose to meet it. Like a Les Paul - sustain forever. Great coffee - we will def get some from you when it launches!
#4 Hunt, I definitely got that
Hunt, I definitely got that sustain you're talking about, see fuzz tone Keith Richards note in the cupping notes.
#5 Kiambu Riuki may be the Master Exploder
Okay, we have tweaked the roast on this PB and quite by accident, came across an amazing profile. Now it is the the most ham-fisted powerhouse in our store! We are getting incredibly potent dark cherry, even from the day after roast, that settles into a dark cocoa dipped black cherry as it cools - unbelievable and sweet as a southern sunset - I mean REALLY sweet!! This bean might be a re-order to the exclusion of something new. Just killer.
#6 Sweet, Syrupy....after a nice long rest.
I agree with the Master Exploder's notes on the flavor profile, but the sweetness and distinctness of the flavors were not coming through for me after a day of rest (albeit the roast was a little darker than I intended (FC+)). In fact, I was a little disappointed after day one, thinking I had gotten myself into something with a nice body and a bit of sweetness, but a little bland in terms of flavor (almost reminded me of something on the sweeter side of an Indonesian coffee???). However, the second day the flavors started to come alive and on day three....wow! Master Exploder was spot on with: "incredibly potent dark cherry....that settles into a dark cocoa dipped black cherry as it cools." And, indeed, this coffee is monstrously sweet. I'm also getting a bit of chocolate pudding (fused with dark red grape?!) in the flavor and the mouth feel, a nice silky (almost slimy, for lack of a better word!) texture, similar to an awesome Nyeri SM had a while back. I'll look forward to seeing what I get with a C+ roast.
#7 OOOPS
Weird,
The last comment I sent, which alluded to Master Exploder's description of the Riuki, was actually my notes on the Kirinyaga! It's strange, though, because I really think the potent dark cherry/dark cocoa dipped black cherry was an apposite description of the Kirinyaga. Now I want to try the Kiambu to compare!
#8 Vegatables
Just finished up roasting the first batch of this, and I gotta say the vegetable flavor is stronger in this Kenya than in others I have had in the past.
We roasted it to 414 internal bean temp, and took it with a curve that was high heat with a big let off to coast to its final temp.
I am not unsatisfied with this, but I would think it is better at slightly darker roasts than the lighter.
#9 veggie tales
The Riuki definitely has more of a pointed acidity. One thing that we found with roasting this is that it is better to push to roast up to its final temp and not to let it coast. The coasting I feel mutes the sweetness and flattens the apricot which could then be perceived as having a vegetable note instead of the tangy and potent one that I love so much in this coffee. Also, along the same lines as the not coasting, I would try to keep this roast under 12 mins.
#10 veggies part 2
Also, resting this coffee makes a substantial difference. Give it a couple days.
#11 veggie tales part 3
Sorry for the delayed response, but this coffee got quite a response after resting a few days from our staff. I may have been a bit hasty to pass it as tomatoey, after a 48 hour rest it really turned out to be a nice coffee.
Thank you for the input!