Hits: 10
Beans: Kenya, SL28, Ruiru 11, Washed, Kirinyaga, Kenya.
Shop: Salt Lake Roasting Company, webshop, Salt Lake City, USA.
Salt Lake Roasting Company: background information.
In 1981 Salt Lake Roasting Company started their business and has been a steady entity in Salt Lake City coffee scene. The coffee shop has recently changed location but is set up much more spacious than their previous location. The shop offers over 30 single origin coffees, ranging from Blue Mountain to wet hulled Sumatra. With the website roasting.com as their internet base, SLRC sells coffee all over the USA and the rest of the world.
This Kenya Kirinyaga consists out of a washed Ruiru 11 and SL28 bean, unfortunately I do not have any information about the farm, washing station etc. This might be added in a later stadium.
Opening the package:
Salt Lake Roasting Company is all about reducing waste to the environment and thus they opted for a carton package without plastic. Some might say that this is not the best way to keep the coffee fresh, but customers can always choose to store the coffee in a re-usable container.
On the front of the package you will find the logo; the name with a steaming cup of coffee depicted over it.
With a marker you will find the name, origin and roasting date of the coffee. I would have liked to see a little more info on the coffee itself; the farm, processing method etc.
When opening the package you will notice a savoury aroma that is mingled with an aroma of gravy, tomato and a faint fruity sweetness. The beans are all roasted equally and when you eat one it will appear crispy, salty with a hint of black tea. Grinding the coffee gives off the aromas of cocoa and that same savoury smell mingled with tomato. Since I am team-tomato when it comes to Kenyan coffee, I like it so far.
The Tasting:
I have brewed this coffee on the V60, Clever dripper and Aeropress. Using a lower temperature (around 90 to 92 degrees) have resulted in the best tasting brews.
When tasting this coffee while it is hot, I immediately get that typical savoury aspect of the Kenya combined with a soft tomato note. The aroma of the coffee is sweet with hints of jammy blackberry but the flavours bring something else to the table. There is that blackberry jammy flavour in background, yet mainly it is lemon zest and a hint of grapefruit bitterness that dominate the first few sips. The savoury flavours are quickly pushed aside by fruity sweetness, that is carried by a black tea flavour, which appears as the coffee cools down. The best part is when the coffee cools down and a minty freshness pops up. Its a very nice freshness that is pretty dominant. The mouthfeel of the coffee is round, balanced and sweet. The citric acidity is medium, making it very pleasant and drinkable.
The aftertaste keeps bringing that minty freshness and lemony flavour combined with black tea. If you breathe back with a closed mouth, through your nose, you will get a soft faint caramel flavour. Letting the coffee cool down even more will bring that caramel flavour to the forefront a little more.
Salt Lake Coffee Company – Kirinyaga: The verdict.
Salt Lake Coffee Company offers a nice Kenya that will appeal to ‘Team Tomato’. The coffee has some very good notes such as the minty freshness, jammy blackberry and grapefruit bitterness, aside from the savoury and tomato note. The citric lemon acidity is just great and not overly much, making this a coffee that you will be able to drink all day long. Overall I would say that this is a very pleasant coffee which is easy on anyone who is looking for a summer-like brew.