Kenya

The grounds show a sweetness of complex sugars, with red raspberry, cola soda, and a sprinkling of baking spices. Hot water builds a sugar-browning intensity to the sweetness, with hints of mulled grape juice and other dark fruits. The fruit-accented sweetness in the brew is very nice in our lighter roasts, and it’s OK to take this coffee up to medium roast levels. Kenyan coffees can be pretty berry-forward in the mid-roasts, and this one really comes through at medium roasts. Light roasts have some tangy fruit flavors, pomegranate juice, dried mango, and grapefruit. The fruits are very sweet and juicy, and seem to change along the way, fading to zested citrus peel bittering in the finish. The aroma pulls together baking spice and tea-like top notes that culminate in profiles of green tea, and cardamom pods. There is also an element of black tea in the aftertaste that has a very pleasant tannic bittering aspect, and moves into some cocoa roast bittering notes too.