The Roi Estate is a small estate located in Kiambu county just north of Nairobi on the foothills of the Aberdare ridge. It grows coffee at altitudes of 1700 metres above sea level in red volcanic soil which is rich in organic matter – perfect for the production of high quality coffee. The area receives around 1098mm of rainfall annually and there are two distinct wet seasons.
The coffee is handpicked and delivered to wet mill where it is pulped. This initially separates the dense beans from the immature ‘mbuni’s (floaters) using water floatation which means the denser beans will sink and be sent through channels to the fermentation tank.This first stage of fermentation will last for around 24 hours, after which the beans are washed and sent to the secondary fermentation tank for another 12-24 hours. Once the fermentation process is completed, the beans enter the washing channels where floaters are separated further and the dense beans are cleaned of mucilage. The washed beans will then enter soaking tanks where they can sit under clean water for as long as another 24 hours. This soaking process allows amino acids and proteins in the cellular structure of each bean to develop which results in higher levels of acidity and complex fruit flavours in the cup - it is thought that this process of soaking contributes to the flavour profiles that Kenyan coffees are so famed for.
The beans are then transferred to the initial drying tables where they are laid in a thin layer to allow around 50% of the moisture to be quickly removed. This first stage of drying can last around 6 hours before the beans are gathered and laid in thicker layers for the remaining 5-10 days of the drying period. The dry parchment coffee is then delivered to a private mill and put into ‘bodegas’ to rest – these are raised cells made of chicken wire which allows the coffee to breathe fully.
Coffee is traditionally sold through the country’s auction system, though recent amendments to the coffee law of Kenya have brought about the introduction of direct trading whereby farmers can by-pass the auction and sell directly to buyers around the world.
This coffee was sourced by Falcon Speciality via this direct trade option.
Brewing
This coffee works well with all filter brewers and espresso. For filter we recommend a 1 - 16 brew ratio, and for espresso a 1 - 2.5 brew ratio.
Example - Filter: 15g - 250ml // Espresso: 18g - 45ml
