This Weeks Single Origins - November 4th

This week we are showcasing some coffees from Mr Berbard Njenga. Mr Njenga owned Sasina Estate, a farm origionally planted by white settlers in the 1940's. Sasina Estate had a neighbouring farm, Machure Estate, which Mr Njenga purchased some yerars later. Although today, the two farms are run as one estate, the coffee produced in different parts of the now huge farm, are very different.The two coffees we have from Mr Njenga are a washed Peaberry Bourbon Hybrid developed by the infamous Scott Laboratories, and a washed Bourbon Ruiri 11 blend. Both coffees are processed in the same washing station, and dried on the same raised beds, so all of the differences in flavour are variety and terrior influenced.I have roasted both for espresso, as well as the Machure for filter. I think this should give us all a good spectrum of flavours of 2 coffees processed and roasted the same as well as one coffee roasted in two different profiles.Espresso:Kenya Machure - Medium bodied with distinct floral notes, syrupy texture with a manuka honey sweetness.Kenya Sasina - Full bodied with notes of caramel, molasses, toffee and maple syrup with a sweet lingering finish.Fitler:Kenya Machure - Medium bodied with distinct floral notes, syrupy texture with a manuka honey sweetness. Have fun……Kenya MachureRegion: Thika DistrictFarm: Machure EstateAltitude: 1,580 metres above sea levelVariety: SL BourbonProcessing: WashedOwner: Mr Berbard Njenga Medium bodied with distinct floral notes, syrupy texture with a manuka honey sweetness.The focus of coffee production on Machure has always been high quality. The owner Mr. Berbard Njenga hinga has devoted His fulltime energy to coffee farming since 1974 when he acquired the farm. Mr Njenga also owns the neighboring Sasina Estate. Machure estate is 125 hectares and produces 182 tons per year.Coffee at Machure is wet Processed which starts with harvesting of red ripe cherry only.  This is then pulped immediately and fermented to remove the mucilage.  When fermentation is complete the parchment is washed with clean water, graded and spread onto raised beds for drying.  While sun drying all defective beans are removed by hand.The unique climate sees an average rainfall of 1286mm annually with temperatures ranging between 13-26 degrees. This is supplemented  with irrigation per season from the dam and a Karemenu River. The soils are red Kikuyu loam. The surrounding area is densely populated with little or no existence of wild animals. The environment is mostly made up of indigenous trees that are well protected by the community.The affiliate members of the factory carry out all agronomic activities associated with coffee production i.e. they source coffee from the Coffee Research Station and plant it according to the stipulated guidelines. Fieldwork carried out involves weeding, pruning, spraying, and application of fertilizer, mulching and technical advice. Technical advice is offered through farmer training programs and field visits/days offered by ministry of agriculture. Compliance to the agreed guidelines is checked and supervised by the field committee which goes round the farms. They usually check that coffee is not inter-grown with other crops such as maize and Beans, though they do allow intercropping with Macadamia. They also encourage farmers who have abandoned their coffee bushes to come more so due to high prices. Kenya SasiniRegion: Thika DistrictAltitude: 1,700 metres above sea levelVariety: Ruiri 11 and BourbonProcessing: washedOwner: Mr Berbard Njenga Full bodied with notes of caramel, molasses, toffee and maple syrup with a sweet lingering finish.The name Sasini, was derived from the river known as Thathini, which the Europeans pronounced as Sasini. The farms were initially owned by white settlers on standard basis and have since changed hands to different owners. The first coffee trees were planted in the early 1940s. Wild animal such as Hare, Antelopes, Monkeys and other friendly animals find their way in search of food in the plantations.Coffee is harvested in two stages, early harvest from April to September and late harvest from October to December. The coffee is all hand picked and pulped in a wet mill, before being fermented and dried on drying tables. It is during the drying stage that all defects are removed by hand.The unique climate sees rainfall of about 900-1300 mm annually with temperatures ranging between 13-26 degrees. Long rains occur between March and May while the short rains occur between October and December. The region consists of red volcanic soils with some patches of loam and Marram Soils mainly in the lower Kiambu area.The surrounding area is densely populated with little or no existence of wild animals. The environment is mostly made up of indigenous trees which are well protected by the community.The affiliate members of the factory carry out all agronomic activities associated with coffee production i.e. they source coffee from the Coffee Research Station and plant it according to the stipulated guidelines. Fieldwork carried out involves weeding, pruning, spraying, and application of fertilizer, mulching and technical advice. Technical advice is offered through farmer training programs and field visits/days offered by ministry of agriculture. Compliance to the agreed guidelines is checked and supervised by the field committee which goes round the farms. They usually check that coffee is not inter-grown with other crops such as maize and Beans, though they do allow intercropping with Macadamia. They also encourage farmers who have abandoned their coffee bushes to come more so due to high prices. Find out more:Kenya Machure - Espressohttp://cleanskincoffeeco.com.au/product/kenya-machure/Kenya Machure - Filterhttp://cleanskincoffeeco.com.au/product/kenya-machure-filter/Kenya Sasini-AA - Espressohttp://cleanskincoffeeco.com.au/product/kenya-sasini-aa/