Plum, Nectarine & Mulled Wine.
Region: Kiambu
Country: Kenya
Process: Special Sundried
Variety: SL-28
Producer: Gulmarg Estate
Altitude: 1950m
Crop Year: 2019
Please note: We roast and package our coffee to order every Monday for postage the following Wednesday. To ensure we get your order in time, please place them before 9am on Monday.
Hailing from the county of Kiambu just outside of Nairobi, this Kenyan coffee is quite special for two reasons. Firstly, while estates such as Gulmarg did once produce the majority of coffee in the country, as the urban sprawl of Nairobi expanded into the surrounding countryside, such estates slowly shrank then reduced in number. Smallholder growing is the new order of the day, but historic estates such as Gulmarg do continue to exist and produce exceptional coffees.
Secondly, natural process coffees such as this are a rarity in Kenya, which has built a reputation on it's fully washed coffees. As natural processing (or "special sundried" as it is referred to locally) is much more intensive, with greater risk of defects and mould if not monitored correctly, washed processing is a safer, somewhat easier option for local farmers. However, as estates such as Gulmarg have the manpower and greater ability to focus on such methods, they can be undertaken and produce exceptional coffees such as this one.
Ripe cherries are selectively harvested and floated to select only the ripest, highest quality cherries for processing. The cherries are placed in a single layer on raised African beds where they are dried in the sun for up to six weeks. The cherries are manually turned throughout this time to ensure they dry evenly and that any potential for mould is caught early. Once it has dried to the required level, it is rested before hulling (the removal of the dry cherry from the bean). A further quality check and hand-picking of the most flawless results are then bagged in GrainPros for export.