Kenya — Peter Mbature Kamavindi Estate Theri SL28 & SL34 AA (Fully Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍒 Blackcurrant • 🍃 Fig Leaf • 🍊 Grapefruit • 🌺 Hibiscus

DETAILS

• Producer: Peter Mbature
• Farm: Kamavindi Estate
• Region: Embu, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28, SL34 (AA Separation)
• Process: Fully Washed
• Altitude: 1,680–1,750 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

The Theri lot is a classic AA separation of SL28 and SL34 from Kamavindi Estate — among the most celebrated Kenyan varietals for their extraordinary intensity of fruit, bright acidity, and vivid complexity. This is the quintessential Kenyan profile: a bright burst of red currant and citrus, underpinned by plum sweetness and a long, clean, layered finish. Grown on the south-east slopes of Mount Kenya in Embu County and processed with Peter Mbature's characteristic precision, it represents some of the finest terroir-driven coffee coming out of Kenya today.

THE PRODUCER

Kamavindi Estate was founded in 1958 by the late John Njiru Mbature during British colonial rule, when native Kenyans were permitted to cultivate only 100 trees. Since those restrictions were lifted in 1961, the farm has expanded to encompass 10,000 trees across 20 hectares. Today it is managed by Peter Mbature — a third-generation farmer, Q Grader, and now a licensed exporter — alongside his mother Hellen Weveti and sister Gladwell Wanjira.

The farm is planted primarily with SL28 (7,000 trees) — the most prized Kenyan variety, belonging to the Bourbon genetic group and selected by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s for its outstanding cup quality and drought resistance. Peter is gradually replacing the remaining Ruiru 11 trees with SL28, aiming for a single-varietal estate of pure SL28. Kamavindi Coffee Lab, his export company and training centre, now supports dozens of small neighbouring farms in the community of Kibugo, helping growers access specialty buyers and improve their processing through education and cupping sessions.

THE PROCESS

The Fully Washed process at Kamavindi Estate involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Ripe cherries hand-picked at peak maturity
• ✅ Hand Sorting & Flotation — Defects removed; density sorting via water
• 🔧 Depulping — Cherries depulped on the day of harvest
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation — Fermented in parchment for 18–20 hours, covered from sunlight
• 💧 First Wash — Washed and turned repeatedly in fresh water until post-wash water runs clean
• 🧪 Second Dry Fermentation — An additional 24 hours of dry fermentation
• 💧 Final Wash & Channel Float — Final wash and density sort through channels
• ☀️ Drying — Dried on raised beds under shade nets to 16% moisture, then finished to ~10.5%

Peter's meticulous double-fermentation, double-wash protocol produces the exceptional clarity and vivid acidity that has made Kamavindi lots a benchmark for washed Kenyan coffee internationally.

THE CUP

A classically structured Kenyan AA with real elegance and depth. Blackcurrant leads with its characteristic intensity, while fig leaf adds a subtle savoury-green dimension. Grapefruit brings bright, clean acidity to the mid-palate, and hibiscus rounds out the finish with a delicate floral tartness. A textbook expression of what makes great SL28 so enduring.

Flavour Notes

• 🍒 Blackcurrant
• 🍃 Fig Leaf
• 🍊 Grapefruit
• 🌺 Hibiscus