Kenya Mt. Lenana

Mt. Lenana is a volcano, giving the coffee that grows on it both the altitude and the volcanic soil that it loves. This is the mix of SL-28 and SL-34 varietal beans that you always want your Kenya to be composed of. This is late 2014 crop and comes packed in grainpro bags for maintaining freshness.

This lot is the smaller AB beans which are one size down from AA. Keep in mind this is no top-auction lot of AA Kenya, but it's also about half the price. This is obviously not the best Kenya we've had in stock, but it might very well be the best Kenya we've ever had at this low of a pricepoint! At a light roast you have a winey juicy coffee, with that great black currant / concord grape taste that is distinctly Kenyan, and that playful tug of war of flashes of tart and sweet . It's just not as pronounced of a taste as what you can find in a larger AA bean and not quite as complex. But the acidity is very nice -- not too strong, but alive -- and the body is very nice -- not too thin -- satisfyingly full in the mouth.

Medium roasts don't seem to do this bean any favors, killing the acidity and complexity, and pulling out a bit of a wood pulp taste. But take it dark (try 20 seconds or more of 2nd cracks) and you have a nice dark roast coffee or a fantastic espresso bean. We're actually going more like 30 or 40 seconds of 2nd cracks and getting a smoky roasty taste to complement the inherent sweetness. We are using the light roasts in blends to add some sweetness and brightness, and we are using the dark roasts in espresso blends.