Kenya Kangocho AB
KENYA
KANGOCHO AB
HOPS, SPICED CITRUS, LEMON SAGE + DARJEELING
BEAN DETAILS:
ORIGIN: Karatina, Nyeri, Kenya
PRODUCER: Gikanda Cooperative Society,
ELEVATION: 1600-2000 masl
PROCESS: kenya style washed process
TASTING NOTES: hops, spiced citrus, lemon sage, darjeeling
ROAST TYPE: Light
Farm Level
Kangocho Factory is near Karatina town in the Nyeri District of central Kenya and is part of the Gikanda Cooperative Society, which is made up of three cooperatives: Gichatha-ini, Kangocho, and Ndaro-ini. The name takes the first few letters of each factory and wet mill to arrive at "GiKaNda." The Gikanda Farmers Cooperative Society consistently delivers phenomenal coffees, and we're always excited to add their coffees to our offer list.
They have a system where pickers are graded as A or B. "A" pickers are those who have been proven to deliver well-selected and sorted cherry; they are invited to submit coffee on the "A" day, when a higher price is paid. "B" pickers are still unproven or have had more immature and over-ripe beans in their bags. They must come on the "B" day and are paid less. While this may seem harsh, it's one of the most effective ways to create an incentive for quality harvesting rather than indiscriminate strip-picking of the coffee tree. (By the way, this A and B picker system has nothing to do with the AA or AB grade, which refers to screen size of the coffee at the dry mill only.)
Kangocho currently has 1,900 active members. The washing station sits at 1,630 meters above sea level, with coffee planted as high as 2,000 meters.
General Brewing Instructions
- Filtered water. Spring water is ideal. Removing chloride, sulfur, and iron is essential.
- A burr grinder. The more even the coffee particles, the better the coffee. Burr grinders, whether manual or electric, will do a better job than "whirly-blade" grinders. Invest in a burr grinder. Your taste buds (and coffee roaster) will thank you.
- A scale. I know using a scale can seem a bit like you're doing something you shouldn't be. Trust me, you can only brew consistently great coffee with a scale. Water and coffee are hard to measure without one.
- Clean equipment. Properly cleaning your equipment is the only way to avoid stale and rancid coffee flavors entering your cup. Please keep your equipment clean. The sooner and more often you clean your gear, the easier it will be in the long run. Add it to your ritual and thank us later.
- Delicious and freshly roasted Color Coffee
- Hario V60 02. Check out Scott Rao's video on how to brew a better pourover than your local cafe does.
- French Press. Check out James Hoffman's video on how to brew a next level cup.
- Aeropress. Check out Tim Wendelboe's video on how to brew an exceptionally easy and delicious cup.
Coffee Faq
IS YOUR COFFEE ORGANIC OR FAIR TRADE?
In many cases, yes. However, our first priority is quality and flavor. Sometimes these priorities align and our producers are certified organic and/or fair trade. We always pay well above fair trade rates (which are quite low and don’t guarantee sustainability or quality).
Often times, the producers we work with are too small to gain certifications. It’s expensive and laborious. Many of our producers are certified organic and fair trade, including many of our producers in Peru, Ethiopia, and Mexico.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME-FRAME TO DRINK MY COFFEE?
We recommend drinking our coffee within one month of the roast date. Most of our coffees taste best however within 2 - 14 days of roast date.
For espresso, we recommend using coffee that has rested at least 7 days after roast date. This is because coffee gives off CO2 after roasting that can interfere with extraction. One way to get around this is to let your ground espresso dose sit for 30-120 minutes before pulling the shot. Email info@colorroasters.com for more questions about this.
If you are pre-grinding the coffee, we recommend drinking the coffee within one week of grinding.
CAN YOU GRIND MY COFFEE ON WEB ORDERS?
Yes, we can. Please select how you want your coffee to be ground at the time you place your order. Simply click on the arrow beside "Grind" and make your selection. If you need help choosing let us know the brewing method you will be using to prepare the coffee, in the notes of the order. And we will be happy to grind the coffee for you on our commercial grinder.
DO YOU HAVE BREW RECIPES?
These are in the works! We are compiling a bunch and even shooting some video, to help you brew like us at home.
In the meantime...go here: Pour Overs | Aeropress to get some expert advice.
MY COFFEE TASTES WEAK, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?