Roaster's Tasting Notes: Strawberry / Banana / Cocoa
Process: Natural
Varieties: Kurume 74158
Roast Date: February 19
200g / 7.05oz
Phil & Sebastian is located in Calgary, Alberta
From Phil & Sebastian
Coffees from the small region of Bensa, at a whopping 2300 meters, are winning almost every coffee competition in Ethiopia, and for good reason. They are complex and elegant, and as a natural process: bursting with fruit. Bekele Yutute is an exemplary example.
A sharp shooter out there might call me out on the last statement: “If you’ve liked Rukira every year, then why didn’t you buy it every year”. A point certainly worth elaborating on! Since my first visit to Kenya way back in 2012, I have struggled with the same problem every season, some seasons more than others.
The problem is the coffee drying. Climate change has impacted Kenya, and over the last decade, it’s produced more erratic weather. For Kenya, that mostly means erratic rain. The rain is sometimes missing at the time it’s needed for optimal flowering to produce the best yields, and then it arrives when undesired, while attempting to dry or store the coffee. It’s hard to keep things dry in the rain! Despite raising alarm bells everywhere I visit on my annual trips, I have yet to see a mill/warehouse to properly provision for the wetter weather.
Sadly, what this means for me is that sometimes I can’t buy their coffee, if the drying or storage is problematic. It’s for this reason that we haven’t been able to offer Rukira every season, even though it has tasted good.
So let’s celebrate its return this year! I would like to recognize a key reason why the coffee is performing better this year. It’s thanks to the brand new factory manager, who just started this season: George Waweru (pictured). Last season, George was the milling machine operator, but he’s been toiling at Rukira since 2002. That’s not a typo. I do mean 22 years! I met George for the first time this year, and his eagerness and energy were palpable. We chatted for a decent interval, and while is is new at management, he’s eager to learn and develop. In his caring hands, I’m hearted for the upcoming seasons of Rukira.
George is not just factory manager, he’s also a coffee producer, supplying ripe cherry to Rukira. He lives close by, and tends to his small plot of 80 trees. Last year, his yield was 170kg and the year before: 430kg. Note the drastic difference of those numbers, so insight into the massive biennial bearing of coffee trees there.
On to Othaya Co-op in general, their superpower is that they are vertically integrated. So, while some factories were struggling with the government changes this season, Othaya and their export arm: Kenya Cooperative Coffee Exporters (KCCE for short) were enjoying business as usual. Although, the Othaya mill was a fair bit busier!
What I love about KCCE is that they operate with a fully transparent pricing structure. They take a fixed 2% fee from the total price paid by buyers. This is completely contrary to other marketing agents and exporters, who take varying and non-transparent amounts from the sale price of each coffee.
Speaking of transparency, I’ve worked extensively with KCCE to derive a detailed pricing breakdown tracing the price paid to the actually coffee farmers. This season we paid 114 Kenya Shillings (Ksh) / Kg across all grades, and 146.21Ksh / kg for this AA lot.
-Phil
