Kenya - Gondo AA #261

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter

Lightest Roaster Influence: We're pushing super fast roast with lots of energy and expansion - in a sign of a great Kenyan it wants to misbehave at the very end of the roast - by managing the end well we're finding it super vibrant and juicy, a fraction more dev than our lightest "lightest" but all the better for it

Best Rested: 3-4 weeks

Filter: 62g/L & 96°C, with rest we like to move down to 93°C and 60g/L

Espresso: Turbo shots + 3 weeks rest. 18g/48g+ & 20s

We're tasting: Real classic Kenyan aromatics - blackcurrant, blackberry and a hint of tomato leaf. In the cup it's unctuous and syrupy - blackcurrant, mango, honey, darjeeling tea. There's a super interesting spiced character to it - somewhere between a cardamon bun and almost a hint of star anise; as it cools becoming more blackberry, redcurrant, and pomegranate juice, with some blood orange and wild plum. High energy and vibrant

Traceability

The Story

Kenya 24/25 Crop:

We talked in the previous two years about the crisis in Kenyan coffee, and how especially the 23/24 crop year was a bit of a dud. But we've been stoked by everything we've seen and committed to so far from this latest crop - a real return of classic Kenyan flavours.

What makes 2025 different? Timing. The cherry maturation conditions aligned beautifully, with ideal pre-harvest rains leading to exceptional cherry development (irregular rains have become an intense problem in coffee production the world over, a distinct symptom of the climate crisis disrupting weather patterns).

While Kenya has struggled with production challenges in recent years, this season has delivered an unprecedented 60% of the harvest at AA grade - the largest screen size, which indicates just how happy the trees were during harvest. Contrast this to Brazil's recent harvest where there was extreme issues with drought and heat, producing a majority small-screen size harvest.

Gondo/New Kiriti FCS:

New Kiriti Farmers Cooperative Society, established October 14, 1998 in Murang'a County, operates three processing facilities serving smallholder farmers in the Aberdare Mountain foothills. Gondo is the flagship factory among the three mills (Gondo, Kayu, and Kirimahiga), located at 1,900 meters above sea level where farmers cultivate small plots averaging around 250 coffee trees. The cooperative's name has remained unchanged since founding, with "new" reflecting the original vision rather than recent establishment. New Kiriti partners with Sustainable Management Services Ltd (SMS), the Kenyan arm of ECOM Agroindustrial Corp, which provides marketing services through both the Nairobi Coffee Exchange and direct specialty sales alongside comprehensive technical support on Good Agricultural Practices and regenerative agriculture methods.

The cooperative transformed dramatically after joining TechnoServe's Coffee Initiative in 2010. Before this partnership, workers earned below minimum wage with no safety protocols. Today, New Kiriti pays above government minimum wage, provides annual leave, parental leave, overtime pay, and on-site first aid services. Secretary Manager Stephen Thuo notes the change: "We really didn't know any of these things. We were very, very far away. But now we are closer." The cooperative now operates with democratic governance through elected committees and has achieved financial sustainability.