Kenya Neri Region Refined Washed Process Plum Grape Flavor Premium Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Nyeri Region Premium Washed Specialty Coffee

This FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Nyeri coffee can be instantly recognized as a representative masterpiece of Kenyan specialty coffee. Bright, perfect citrus aroma, with lemon and lime complemented by fresh tomato, cranberry, black tea, and white grape flavors, plus a champagne-like effervescence. This is a first-class coffee, and our only regret is that the quantity of this particular lot is not large.

Part of what makes this batch of FrontStreet Coffee Kenya coffee so refined is the producers' meticulous sorting and processing. The essence of Royal Coffee's Red Cherry Project is to encourage excellence. The extra time and labor spent selecting cherries, the attention to detail during washing and fermentation, and the careful drying and sorting of the coffee have all been rewarded, with premium returns flowing directly back to the local cooperatives involved in the work.

Kamoini is one of about 20 cooperatively operated processing stations under the Othaya Cooperative Society in Nyeri County, using the Ikamama River as its water source. Established in 1987, roughly 600 members in the region deliver their cherries to the Kamoini station for on-site processing. The triple washing process includes floating before fermentation, soaking after fermentation, and washed processing. Then KCCE (Kenya Coffee Export Cooperative) handles drying and sales; KCCE is one of the few organizations in the Kenyan coffee industry owned and operated by cooperative members from top to bottom.

Kamoini's location in Nyeri could hardly be better for coffee cultivation. The Aberdares Mountains lie in central Kenya, just west of Mount Kenya.

The forest-covered mountains also happen to be fertile ground for coffee and other crops, and coffee from western Nyeri County benefits from this unique ecosystem.

Green Bean Analysis by Chris Kornman

Very similar to its counterparts, this Kamoini coffee is carefully selected for only screen sizes 18 and 19, which in the former British colonial coffee grading system are equivalent to AA grade. Beyond precise screen sizing, this batch of FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Kamoini has very high density, likely requiring significant heat application in the early stages of roasting.

Proportionally, growers in the Nyeri region, especially those contributing to Kamoini, primarily cultivate SL28, a lower-yield but higher-sensory-potential variety originally selected from Tanzania in 1931. Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) remains a major problem in this part of the world. It is a highly transmissible fungal disease and, like leaf rust, coffee research has focused on breeding resistance. Ruiru 11 entered the market as a complex F1 hybrid, and more recently the high-yield, early-maturing Batian variety (essentially an F5 backcross of Ruiru 11 with fewer Sarchimor genes) has been provided to farmers as a solution for Coffee Berry Disease (CBD).

Product Information

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Nyeri Region Washed Coffee · Kenya Nyeri Kamoini

Processing Method: Triple Washed

Altitude: 1824m

Flavor Profile: Plum, Raisins, Sweet Aftertaste

The green beans come from Royal Coffee in the United States, a limited-edition lot recommended by their tasting room.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Nothing says Kenya quite like a bright, juicy, washed coffee, and the FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato is the house favorite. Grown in Kenya's Thika region at 1,550-1,750 meters, it uses the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties and Kenya's signature 72-hour double-wash fermentation, which coaxes out big fruit aromatics while keeping the cup clean and pure.

Roasted light to preserve the lively acidity, it pours out concentrated dried-tomato and floral aromas on the dry grounds, then clear cherry-tomato and smoked plum flavors with a bright, full, freshly squeezed juice texture. Mid-palate it turns sweet with pear and black plum, and the finish is long and clean, with brown-sugar sweetness and a faint green-tea note. If you want to taste the character of this Nyeri lot in an everyday bean, this is the one.