Flavor Notes:
raspberry jam, creme b , nutmeg
Altitude: 1220m - 2300m
Varietal: Batian, SL28, SL34, and Ruiru 11.
Region: select regions
Process: Washed
Kichwa Tembo means “elephant head” in Swahili. It is one of Cafe Imports' standard offerings and is composed of a blend of varietals and farms. This season's Kichwa Tembo present a classic, hardworking Kenya profile with citrus fruit, bright and tangy acidity, balanced sweetness, and some of the complexity expected from a Kenyan.
In Kenya, most smallholders own between 1/8 and 1/4 hectare — tiny plots. They deliver ripe cherries to a central processing station (called a "factory" or washing station), where the day's combined deliveries are processed together. This is why traceability in Kenya stops at the factory level rather than the farm level for most lots.
Kenya employs a unique variation to the typical washed process. The coffee is picked and depulped the same day, then fermented in open-air concrete tanks for 24–48 hours. Following fermentation, it is thoroughly washed. The twist that Kenya adds is an additional soaking step underwater for 12–72 hours. This extended soaking step is what gives Kenyan coffees their clean, bright, and intensely fruited cup character.
Cafe Imports sources Kenyan offerings at auction through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, through exporters, and via "Second Window" direct relationships, which allows them to purchase based on cup quality across multiple channels. The "Second Window" is an avenue by which a farmer and buyer negotiate price somewhat separately from auction bidding, typically by discussing and agreeing on the deal before or during the harvest.
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 sight; 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, SL34 and other coffee varieties selected at the lab.
