Kenya Gakuyuni Pb: Sample Coffee Roasters

Kenya
Gakuyuni Pb

We find flavours of rich, blackcurrant, caramel

Body Acidity

What’s unusual about this coffee is that it’s a pea berry – the PB in the name. If you look closely at the beans, you’ll notice they’re different from what you usually see: they’re a whole round bean.

Most coffee beans split in two while the cherry is growing, giving the familiar flat-sided shape to the bean. A PB stays as one whole bean.

Comparing a peaberry bean with a typical bean (in this case, Ethiopian Heirloom)

Pea berries occur naturally in most varietals of coffee, and are removed from the crop as part of the manual sorting process because they behave differently during roasting, but with some crops it’s possible to collect enough to sell and roast separately.

The region

Kirinyaga is located on the slopes of Mount Kenya and together with the neighboring region Nyeri, it’s known for coffees with some of the most intense and complex flavours in the world.

The region is made up of mainly smallholder farms, each with some 100 trees. The farmers are organized in Cooperative Societies that act as umbrella organisations for the factories (wetmills), where the smallholders deliver their coffee cherries for processing.

Kirinyaga has a mix of smallholders and block holders with small to medium farms. The ones that don’t have their own processing equipment delivers cherries to their local Cooperative. Many of the farmers are surrounded by several wet mills and as members are free to choose where they want to deliver their cherries.

Most coffees are grown under shade from Gravelia and Muringa Alloevella trees.

Due to the traditional auction system in Kenya, quality is rewarded with higher prices. The better factories will then attract more farmers by producing coffee getting the highest prices, as well as giving high payback rate to the farmers. This can in some cases be about 90% of the sales price after cost of marketing and preparation is deducted.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% SL34, SL28, and Ruiru 11 coffee beans, provided by Nordic Approach and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: Thirikwa Farmers Cooperative Society
Country: Kenya
Region: Kirinyaga
Altitude: 1700 – 1900m above sea level
Varietals: SL34, SL28, and Ruiru 11
Process: Washed
Body: Medium
Acidity: Bright
Tasting notes: Rich, blackcurrant, caramel
Roast style: Omni

Varietals

Ruiru 11 varietal

Released in 1985, Ruiru 11 is a disease resistant varietal developed in Kenya

SL28 varietal

SL28 was developed in 1931 by Scott Laboratories to suit the growing conditions in Kenya. The varietal is known for its exceptional cup quality

SL34 varietal

Developed by Scott Laboratories in Kenya, the SL34 varietal was designed to be high yielding with good cup quality.

The location

Coffee from Kenya

Alongside Ethiopia and Colombia, Kenya is one of the origins we get most excited about at the roastery. It exports some of the most vibrant, bright, and unique coffees in the world.

The Kirinyaga region of Kenya

This region is located east of Nyeri, and has similarly rich volcanic soils and a high percentage of smallholder producers.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.

4 brew notes from subscribers

Kenya Gakuyuni Pb

Ben’s Aeropress

Delicious. Have done this one both hot and chilled with ice. 17g/200g, stir at 30 and 60, press at 90, 30 second press. NFI if I'm "doing it right" with aeropress ;)