Kivanga Estate AA - Kenya

Country: Kenya
Region: Embu County
Estate: Kivanga Estate
Altitude: 1,800 m
Producer: Morris Njage
Variety: SL28 & SL34
Harvest: November 2025
Process: Washed
Flavor Notes: Raspberry candy, Blackcurrant, Mixed berries

About beans:

This AA lot from Kivanga Estate stood out in our cuppings for its vivid notes of mixed berries and blackcurrant, supported by a bright yet dense structure of acidity and sweetness. It consistently ranked first across three rigorous rounds of blind tasting.

The high concentration of flavor is largely attributed to Kivanga’s single estate nature. Traditionally, producers of similar scale deliver their cherries to cooperative-owned washing stations, where they are processed together with coffees from other farmers in the same region. This often results in a loss of microclimate expression, and even exceptional varieties like SL28 and SL34 may be blended with Ruiru 11 and Batian, further diluting flavor intensity.

Kivanga Estate, however, operates its own processing facilities, allowing full control and traceability back to the farm. After depulping, the coffee undergoes 36–48 hours of wet fermentation, followed by thorough washing with clean water, and is then dried on raised beds for 10–20 days.