In My Mug Audio Hasbean

Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi.
Administratively, the Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river.
Kiriga coffee is predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB.
Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean.
Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s its size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right?
Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily.
This year we will have the AA, AB, C and Peaberry from Kiriga - so big beans, medium beans, little beans and even littler beans! Traditionally, the AA has got the highest prices (they’re about 15-20% of the crop), with AB being a bit cheaper and C going into commodity coffee. However, Brian from Kiriga sent us his C to try the year before last for the first time and we were wow-ed - it’s really sweet and nice - so we began buying it and are super excited to have it again for another year. The Peaberry has previously been included in with the C, due to the similar size and smaller harvests, however this year the two have been separated out and there's enough of it to stand alone!
All coffee activities at Kiriga are carried out at a factory level, from the coffee nursery to all the farm operations (pruning, weed control, nutrition, irrigation, basin digging, disease control, infilling, mulching, and planting). Wet mill operations are also carried out on the factory level. Kiriga delivers both parchment coffee and Mbuni (naturals) to the commercial dry mill for milling and grading, in preparation for sale at coffee auctions and via indirect sale.
In addition to growing coffee the estate also has shoats (sheep and goats), a dairy, and the potential to keep fish. It's all about diversity, and what's more diverse than a 'shoat'?! The estate is also occasionally visited by two hippos, in addition to some bird-life, while also being the home of a family of monkeys. 
Blackcurrant jam in a cup. Super sweet with brown sugar and biscuit against the blackcurrant and then a little sprinkle of cocoa nibs on the aftertaste.
Country: Kenya
Region: Central Province
District: Muranga
Constituency: Gatanga
Nearest town: Thika
Estate: Kiriga
Farmer: Dr Brian Gakunga
Altitude: 1,550–1,650 m.a.s.l.
Varietals: SL28 AB & Ruiru 11 AB
Processing method: Washed
CUPPING NOTES
Blackcurrant jam, brown sugar, biscuit, cocoa nibs
Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (

There's an upfront punch of blackcurrant acidity here, which softens out into ripe nectarines. That lingers through towards the finish, where a sweet, golden sugar note hangs through into the aftertaste.

Finca San Ramon sits within the Dipilto mountain range, a Nicaraguan nature reserve located close to the border with Honduras.
The farm is run by Donald Efrain Roque, who is the third generation of coffee producers in the Roque Family. Both his grandfather and father were dedicated to coffee, and he is continuing with this beautiful legacy. For his entire life, he has worked with coffee and over this time he has acquired a very special affection and passion for it.
In 2006, Donald Efrain found out about the Cup of Excellence in Nicaragua and he decided to participate in the contest to see how much potential his coffee had. After performing well, he became more motivated than ever to continue improving the quality of his coffee and participated again in COE in 2009 and 2011, where he achieved great results. For him, the biggest change from being a conventional farmer to a specialty coffee farmer was having to train and educate his workers to change their harvesting and processing practices.
Donald has been working with our sourcing partners Caravela for five years now and his point of view on coffee has completely changed since he started producing specialty coffee. Now he is consistently seeking to improve and to become a better farmer. He strongly believes in the potential of specialty coffee in Dipilto, Nueva Segovia and he recommends every single farmer in the region to focus solely on producing a high-quality product.
This coffee is all about the sweetness - think brown sugar and malted milk biscuits crumbled together. There's a fresh red apple which comes along on the finish and lingers into the aftertaste for a lovely easy drinking cup.
Country: Nicaragua
Municipality: Dipilto

Department: Nueva Segovia

Farm name: San Ramón
Producers: Donald Efrain Roque López
Farm size: 40 manzanas (hectares)
Coffee growing area: 20 hectares

Altitude: 1,300-1,600 m.a.s.l.

Varietal: Pacamara, Catuai + Maragogype
Processing method: Washed
CUPPING NOTES
Brown sugar, malted milk biscuit, red apple
Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36
Total: (max. 100): 86
Roast InformationMedium-dark - through first and then slow it down a little to get the sweetness nicely developed, finishing the roast just as you approach second crack.

A few years back we had a lot that was produced by various smallholder farmers from the small town of Copacabana, which lies about 180 kilometres from La Paz in the heart of the Caranavi coffee-producing region. Then in 2016 things changed a little, and the lot came from just one producer in the area. His name is Vincent Paye. That year we described him as a beacon of hope in a tough growing region, and that beacon has continued to shine brightly.
Caranavi is a lush and fertile region. It has steep slopes and valleys that provide excellent conditions for growing high-quality coffee, and they also support a diverse range of native flora and fauna. The area has rich volcanic soils and regular rainfall. Coffee growing heaven!
The colony of Copacabana has a collection of small farms that are each around five hectares in size (although Vincent has ten hectares). The farms range over an altitude of 1,300 to 1,700 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.), and they benefit from an average annual temperature between 15 and 26°C. This lot comes from Vincent's farm, which is very similar to neighbouring farms and is at an altitude of around 1,550 m.a.s.l. These traditional farms use no chemicals or pesticides and follow the principles of organic farming not because of certification but because they want to look after their farms and land in the best way they possibly can.
The main harvest runs from May to September, peaking around July and August. The cherries are handpicked when they're fully ripe, and they're then delivered to the central mill, called Buena Vista, where they are fully washed.
Bolivia is a challenging origin and is going through some tough times: dwindling crops, ageing plants, lack of varietal diversity, and ageing producers with children who have little to no interest in carrying on the family business. But then there are people like Vincent who are doing wonderful work to buck that trend. He's been planting new stock, working hard alongside his family, and increasing his yield – as well as increasing the quality of his coffee.
A gentle red apple kicks things off, but it's followed up with a really interesting sweetness like a Caramac bar - kind of creamy and caramel. On the aftertaste is clean dark chocolate which rounds it out and balances it nicely.
Country: Bolivia
Region: Yungas
Municipality: Caranavi
Town: Copacabana
Farm: Vincent Paye
Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l.
Producer: Vincent Paye
Varietal: Red and Yellow Caturra
Processing: Washed
CUPPING NOTES
Red apple, Caramac, dark chocolate
Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36
Total: (max. 100): 87
Roast InformationMedium-dark – keep the pace steady through first crack and through the gap, looking to finish the roast just before 2nd gets going.

The first coffee bush at Kiriga Estate was planted in approximately 1954 by colonial settlers. At about the same time, less than ten kilometres away along the same Kigio road, a young boy (Aloysius Gakunga, son of the chief for the larger Murang'a county) helped his father – Senior Chief Ndungíu Kagori – plant the first coffee seedling in the area. The area was known as Gaitegi village, Muranga Location 1 (Loco One). A love affair with coffee had been born!
Several years went by and the young boy grew up. He was riding his bicycle along Kigio road and, as he rode past the vast – by now well-established – coffee estates, he promised himself that he would one day own one of them.
He realized this dream in 1976.
The boy, or Mr A. N. Gakunga, sadly passed away in July 2014. By the time of his death, Mr Gakunga had passed his love of coffee and the mantle of Kiriga coffee estate on to Dr Brian Ndungíu Gakunga. Brian was his second child, and the eldest son out of his six children. According to Kikuyu cultural naming systems, Brian is named after Mr Gakunga's father, who was both his grandfather and his pioneer coffee farmer.
Dr Brian Gakunga is a coffee farmer who is well known in Kenyan coffee circles. He is a founding member and a former long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Kenya Coffee Producers Association, which is a national farmers' organisation that works to promote the economic and social interests of the coffee farmers through active participation in the national and international arena.
Brian is also a former Board Member and Chairman of Transitional Exchange Committee (operationally, he was the then-Chairman of Nairobi Coffee Exchange), where over 90% of all of Kenya's coffee is currently sold. He's also currently the Founding Chairman of Africa Coffee Farmers' Network.
Africa Coffee Farmers' Network represents the interests of coffee farmers, as spelt out in the organisation's core objective of improving the earnings of poor coffee farmers in order to break the vicious cycle of poverty. One way of doing this is by getting direct sales for the farmers.
Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi.
Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river.
Kiriga coffee is predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB.
Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean.
Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s it’s size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right?
Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through

We first encountered Teodocio Mamani back in 2012. Long story short: he's an amazing guy doing great things with coffee!
Teodocio's farm sits in the municipality of Canton Uyunense in Caranavi, and this coffee is a mixed lot of red and yellow Catuai. Teodocio has one hectare of land on his farm that is a natural forest reserve, in which he owns a house where he lives with his wife and two children.
Teodocio processes the majority of his coffee on his own farm. He uses a depulper that removes the cherry, then leaves the cherry to go through a dry fermentation process (anaerobic) for sixteen hours, and then runs it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. He then transfers the coffee to raised African beds, where it dries in around twelve days (depending on local weather conditions).
We were talking to the exporter about Teodocio's picking methods, and he was explaining that the family uses a method called 'Ayne'. With this method the most mature fruits are harvested each day by hand, demanding the labour of 8–10 people (who are all Mamani family members) to pick selectively and correctly. But because of this he gets more coffee that he can sell as specialty grade, and the cup profile improves too. Teodocio is super passionate about improving the cup quality!
Starting with brown sugar, this swings quickly into honeycomb. It's definitely sweet, but a gentle hint of mango alongside it and then a bit of lime zest on the finish adds a softly fruity edge. The aftertaste keeps that going with juicy raisin, tempting you back for another sip.
Country: Bolivia
Region: Yungas
Province: Caranavi
Municipality: Canton Uyunense
Farm: Teodocio Mamani
Varietals: Caturra and Catuai
Ripe cherry colour: Red and yellow
Altitude: 1,600–1,750 m.a.s.l.
Processing method: Mechanically washed
Fermentation method: Dry (anaerobic)
Fermentation time: 16 hours
Drying method: Raised African beds
Drying time: 12 days
CUPPING NOTES
Brown sugar, honeycomb, mango, lime zest, raisin.
Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36
Total (max. 100): 87.5
Roast InformationMedium-dark - reduce the heat during first crack and let them run through to the end of the gap. Drop just before second crack begins.