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Beans: Greenway Coffee, Kabare, SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, washed, Kirinyaga, Kenya.
Shop: Greenway Coffee & Tea, Houston, Texas.
Greenway Coffee – Kabare: Background information:
The Kirinyaga District (where the Kabare station is located) is home to 800 farmers, those of whom live on the same land (Mt. Kenya) they farm from. Kirinyaga itself has a name derived from the Kikuyu group’s native language, meaning “God’s resting place”. It’s believed to be sacred by many of these groups, some even building their homes to have doors facing the peak. The soil used to grow their coffee is volcanic and mineral dense. Processed and washed in fresh river water before drying on sun-raised beds. The varietals used in this coffee are SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11 and all come from the same region.
Greenway Coffee – Kabare: Opening the package.
Greenway has some very nice metallic looking packages; the Kabare comes in a metallic green version. The package has a degassing valve but no ziplock. There is a sticker that will allow you to re-seal the package after each use but you will need to replace it after a couple of times. The beans inside have been roasted nicely and there are no defects to be found.
On the package you will find the name of the coffee and the name of the region where the coffee was grown. On single origin coffees, Greenway Coffee also has some tasting notes on the front as well just as with the Kabare. The side of the package contains the roasting date, the most important piece of information to the consumer.
When I take a bean out and eat it, I get a light sour taste before a hint of toffee comes up. A tea like bitter takes over after a couple of seconds. Whne grinding the coffee, there is a distinct toffee aroma that comes up yet again. Lets brew!
Kabare: the tasting.
Im reviewing this coffee on the Hario V60, the Aeropress and the Siphon. My favourite brew came off the Aeropress since the tasting notes came off best with more sweetness in the brew.
When I start brewing the coffee, the most prolific aroma that comes off the coffee is that of toffee. This is the aroma and flavor that dominates this coffee. When the brew cools down there is also a spicy note to the brew that reminds me of black berry. Its far away in the background though.
When I take a sip, the first thing I notice is the beautiful citric acidity. It stimulates the tip and sides of my tongue. I’d almost go for an alkaline acidity, as if you push a battery against your tongue.
The coffee is still hot and it gives off a black tea bitterness with sweet dates flavor. The coffee starts to open up more when cooling down. All of the sudden the black tea bitterness takes shape and makes me think of tangerine zest and grapefruit at the same time. Taking another sip, the sweetness of the dates is accompanied by the stronger toffee flavor that pops up. It is a smooth creamy flavor that lingers nicely. There was a note that I couldn’t directly pinpoint but finally it hit me: the flavor of marijuana accompanied the toffee while swallowing the brew. It is not in your face; it sits in the background and comes up in the aftertaste as well.
The aftertaste is all about savoring the brew. Toffee, caramelized sugar and the lingering lemon/grapefruit acidity of the coffee that keeps stimulating your mouth.
Kenya Kabare: The verdict.
Greenway Coffee & Tea roasted this Kabare in a way I have rarely seen before. A Kenya with full on tasting notes of toffee and dates, a lemon/grapefruit bitterness and marijuana in the aftertaste. If you are fed up with the typical Kenyan notes, you will definitely love this as a change of scenery. At Greenway Plaza, the batchbrew carried more stronger flavors of grapefruit and caramelized sugar and it tasted very refreshing!
I personally think this coffee is great and I recommend trying it at least once while visiting Greenway!