Something Special | Mutheka

Roaster Notes:

Of all the coffees I’ve ever had the privilege of sipping, this one is the juiciest. The sparkling acidity is the first impression on your palette. Have you ever had caramelized pineapple in a brown sugar glaze? That sweet treat perfectly encapsulates this Kenyan experience. The linger is sweet and subtly floral like sniffing the bloom of a rose whilst biting into a fresh apricot. The brown sugar comes back and leaves you with one final kiss for the road. This is one of the most playful coffees I’ve ever had the pleasure of roasting, and I'm sure people will see how brightly she shines on drip. You can also get a dazzling pour over and Turkish brew from this bean. I recommend it on every brew method, espresso included.

Importer Notes:
“Highlands Global Coffee is grown and single sourced around a radius of 50 Kilometres in the Mount Kenya Highlands in Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties at an altitude of 1,900 to 2,100 metres above sea level. Our specialization is growing, sourcing and exporting Single Origin Specialty and Commercial Coffees.

Quality and consistency is our priority. This is the feature that distinguishes Nova Gardens Coffee as a reliable and elegant brand.

Depending on the variety, it will take approximately 3-4 years for the newly planted coffee trees to begin to bear fruit. The fruit called the fruit cherry turns into a bright, deep red when ripe and ready for harvesting. It is mostly picked by hand when ready. Coffee cherries are harvested when “cherry red.”

On reaching the factory, the underripe, overripe and defective cherries are sorted out from those that are perfectly ripe. Only the bright, deep red, ripe cherries make it to the next stage of pulping.The first stage of pulping is to remove the pulp from the seed. It is done using clean, running water. After the pulping process, the coffee beans are covered in slippery mucilage.

At this point, they are soaked and fermented for approximately 36 hours in a special tank to store and remove the mucilage before sun drying them. Parchment coffee goes through an extra washing to remove any dirt or remains of sugars and mucilage.

The final washing stage also allows further bean grading. Sinking parchment coffee is separated from the ones floating on the water surface. This process helps to distinguish between higher and lower-quality beans. Sun-drying the coffee beans entails spreading out the beans in beds where they are frequently stirred to promote even drying and air flow. It is the most preferred method for reducing the moisture content. Sun-drying brings moisture content to about 12%, perfect for storage, roasting, or hulling.”