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Located in Nyeri county in Central Kenya this natural process offering is grown at an altitude of 1824m above sea level. Notes of lemon, cane sugar, strawberry and raspberry sparkled on the cupping table when tasting the arrival sample. I have only had the opportunity to roast a natural Kenya coffee a few times, so I was excited to take this to the Diedrich after cupping the arrival sample. I charged to 391 degrees Fahrenheit and released the coffee into the drum with the burner at 50%. The roast turned around at 1:31 into duration at 159 degrees. Just under 3:00 minutes I increased the burner to 75%. As momentum began to build, I adjusted the airflow to 50% at 5:09 into duration. The maillard phase of the roast began 6:07 into duration at 312 degrees. As the roast began to take on color it occurred at a fast rate with uniformity. I decreased heat application to 50% 6:29 into duration. The next heat adjustment came at 7:39, dropping the burner down to 30%. The development phase of the roast began at 8:52 into duration at 386 degrees. Immediately after marking first crack, I adjusted airflow to 100%. First crack was audible and defined. The last heat adjustment of the roast was at 9:35 into duration, lowering the burner to 25%. The duration of the roast was 11:01 with an end temperature of 397 degrees and 2:09 of development time.

After giving the production roast a day of rest this offering did not disappoint on the cupping table. I was impressed with the integration of cane sugar, lemon, raspberry and strawberry notes fused together forming a sweet candy finish anchored by delicate acidity and a medium body. After the cupping I brewed two pour overs. For the first brew I weighed 21 grams and used a grind setting of 9 on our EK-43. The brew mirrored what we tasted from our cupping session, nice integration of flavors, sweet finish with medium body and delicate acidity. For the second brew I weighed 23.5 grams and used a grind setting of 9.5 on our EK-43. The results in the cup were like the first brew but with some noticeable differences. A nice grape note emerged that was not present in the first brew, the acidity and sweet finish remained the same. The body was heavier with a syrupy mouthfeel. Delicate layered candy sweetness integrated with cane sugar and clean, crisp acidity.