Kenya AA Mutitu Auction Lot
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About Kenya AA Mutitu Auction Lot
Another coffee that we imported directly from Kenya this presents itself very cleanly and elegantly, an at an exceptional price. After cupping our way through many AA auction lot samples, most of them very nice, we settled on two in moderately different price ranges. The one is a Mutiti AA microlot. Top Kenya lots are considerably less per pound, by several dollars, then last year. A couple of years with exceptional rain had reduced crop size and spiked prices, but that situation is now settling down. This is a coffee grown locally and processed at the Mutitu Coffee Factory, anisolated lot marketed separately for its high quality.
The Mutitu Coffee Factory is located in Central Province, Nyeri District about 4 kilometers from the nearest main town of Mukurwe-ini. It is located specifically in Giathugui, which is at 2000 meters elevation - over 6550 feet. The Factory provides processing services to about 640 member farmers.
Almost the entirety of coffee processed here are the classic Bourbon offshoots SL28 and SL34. After harvesting, all the coffee is delivered to the factory and undergoes the wet processing method: double fermentation followed by sun drying on raised tables. Local soil is red, volcanic.
Top lots are separated according to grade and cup quality and move to the auction block, where they are recupped. Naturally, the best afford the highest and active bidding. Our Mutitu AA lot is an example of an excellent Kenya AA at a particularly reasonable price.
This coffee shipped from origin and arrived at our facility packed in grainpro bags.
Cup Characteristics: Sweet, spicy, complex aromatics presenting dark chocolate. Extremely clean. Succulent, juicy character showing peach and other stone fruit, melon, followed by a long, dry finish. Chocolate mouthfeel.
Roasting Notes: Beans are hard and dense and can be roasted to a variety of darkness levels. Most floral and delicate notes will be presented at City+ to FC range. The delicate nuances of this coffee will present themselves at lightly roasted levels but be sure to have a full first crack. Behmor users try P1 or P3.
Kenya coffee facts:
Population (2006): 34.7 million People
Coffee Production: 880,000 bags (60 kg)
Country bag capacity: 132 pounds - 60 kg
Domestic Consumption: 50,000 bags
Coffee Export: 850,000 bags
Cultivated Area: 127,000 Hectares (314,000 acres)
Harvests: 2 per year
- Main crop October to December
- Fly crop June to August
Arabica Introduced: Introduced from Ethiopia via Yemen at the end of the 19th century, by the Fathers of the Holy Spirit Congregation. Bourbon varietal introduced from Reunion in 1901 by missionaries. Kent varietal introduced early 20th century from the Indies.
Specialty Coffee Regions: North and northeast of Nairobi; high plateaus surrounding Mt. Kenya. Soil is volcanic.
Grades: AA Plus, AA, peaberry
Farms: About 350,000 farms with an average of 0.2 hectares (about 1/2 acre). 8 major preparation cooperatives.
Botanical Varietals: Bourbon, Kent, various hybrids (SL-28, SL-34, Riuru 11), Blue Mountain (from Jamaica).
Comments
One of the great coffee producers. Coffee accounts for 27% of the country's exports and half of their agricultural output. Shading, by banana trees, is a common practice.
Kenya has a weekly auction system that has been in place for many years. It does not provide transparency of revenues to growers and the system is said to be flawed by a complex web of middlemen. There are allegations of corruption as well. The government is working to develop a more direct model whereby growers can offer their coffees more directly to foreign buyers thus reaping a better price.
