Flavor Notes:
black cherry, vanilla, apricot
Altitude: 1220m - 2300m
Varietal: sl28, sl34, ruiru 11, bation
Region: select regions
Process: Washed
From Our Importers:
Kichwa Tembo means “elephant head” in Swahili, and for Cafe Imports, this mark represents the strength in the cups. Our Kichwa Tembo signature offerings present a classic, hardworking Kenya profile with citrus fruit like grapefruit, bright and tangy acidity, balanced sweetness, and some of the complexity expected from a Kenyan. We strive to offer high-quality Kichwa Tembo coffees as a price-conscious complement to our more traceable microlot offerings from this fabled growing country.
History of Coffee in Kenya
It seems likely that coffee grew wild within the region that would become Kenya, buried deep inside impenetrable forests, or perhaps hiding in plain site; but it wasn’t until 1895 that missionaries both protestant and catholic attempted to grow coffee for commercial purposes. The 100 seeds from Reunion Island that would serve as progenitors to the Kenyan coffee industry arrived on a train, carried by priests belonging to an order known as “Holy Ghost Fathers.” On August 12th, 1899, they arrived at the spot that would quickly become the country’s capital city. One of the early protestant medical missionaries was Dr. Henry Scott. After his death in 1911, a new hospital complex was named after Dr. Scott and when the department of agriculture took over the complex in 1923 they kept the name: Scott Agricultural Laboratories, or “Scott Labs.” This is the origin of the “SL” in SL28 and other coffee varieties selected at the lab.
