Coffee Spotlight: Arsaga's Kenya (Nyeri) Peaberry

Today's coffee sample is the Kenya Peaberry from Arsaga's Fayetteville Coffee Roasters in Fayetteville, Ar. 

ORIGIN: Kenya

FACTORY: Gatugi Factory
COOPERATIVE: KIri Mara Cooperative
REGION: Located on the eastern slopes of Aberdare ranges; 140 kilometers North of Nairobi City in the Nyeri District

ALTITUDE: 1,700-2,100m

VARIETAL: Arabica (SL and Ruiri 11)

PROCESS: Hand-picked, wet processed, and gradually sun-dried. 

CUP: Vibrant, bright notes of rose hip.  As the cup cools, clear notes of blueberry and tropical fruit.

Brewing Process: Aeropress

Water: 250g

Coffee: 15g

Acidity: moderate to low acidity, not too sharp

Body: medium body similar to 1% milk.

Flavors: Cocoa, sugar, blueberry

Notes: The aeropress was a pretty good cup.  The rose hip was all but non existent in this sample.  It probably melded in with the blueberry and sugar notes.  I got some cocoa at the beginning that faded as it cooled. 

Brewing Process: Melitta

Water: 250g

Coffee: 15g

Acidity: bright

Body: medium body similar to 1% milk

Flavors: rose hip sweet and caramel

Notes: Another good cup. The body was nice, not too heavy.  The rose hip and sugary sweet was complemented with a little caramel finish.  There might have even been a slight hint of dark chocolate aftertaste.

Brewing Process: French Press

Water: 250g

Coffee: 15g

Acidity: low

Body: medium high body similar to a 2% milk

Flavors: mild sugar and floral notes with syrup and milk chocolate

Notes: The body was predictably heavier and the brightness was predictably less.  The rose hip was all but gone for me on this one.  There was a much more general sweetness like syrup and a muted chocolate finish.

Brewing Process: Autodrip

Water: 650g

Coffee: 40g

Acidity: medium

Body: medium to light

Flavors: rose hips, sugar, and fruit

Notes: The regular old run of the mill coffee maker actually had the most complete flavor profile for the coffee.  The body was lighter than the others and the acidity was crisp.  This was the only method that I was able to really pick out some blueberry notes.

Brewing Process: Moka Pot

Water: 300g

Coffee: 28g

Acidity: high

Body: medium

Flavors: floral and fruit and sugar

Notes: The acidity was much more pronounced than the other samples.  The flavors were only floral and fruit and sugar on this one.  They were much more noticable but slightly muted at the same time.

This Kenyan was an overall hit.  Maybe it was the peaberry that pushed its performance.  Suprisingly, only the autodrip produced the full list of flavors even though all methods performed very well.  I would gladly drink this coffee through any of the above methods.   

Head on over to Arsaga's and get yourself some of their fine offering.  Let me know how your cup turns out in the comments.