Kenya — Ibonia Estate AB SL-34 & Ruiru 11 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍊 Clementine • 🫐 Red Berries • 🫐 Currants

DETAILS

• Producer: Solomon Waithaka
• Farm: Ibonia Estate — Imani Block
• Region: Kiambu, Kenya
• Varietal: SL-34 & Ruiru 11
• Process: Washed (AB Separation)
• Altitude: 1,750 MASL
• Harvest: October–December 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A first Kenyan arrival of the new season from ilse coffee — and one of the first single-estate Kenyan lots they have worked with. From Solomon Waithaka's Ibonia Estate in Kiambu, this is an AB separation from the Imani Block: a 15-hectare parcel within a nearly 200-hectare estate, managed with exceptional attention to detail and long-term quality thinking. Ripe and vibrant, with a syrupy sweetness and a fresh acidity. In the cup: clementine, red berries, and currants.

THE PRODUCER

Solomon Waithaka runs Ibonia Estate in Kiambu — one of Kenya's oldest and most historically significant coffee-growing regions, situated on the slopes of the Aberdare Range at 1,750 MASL. While most of ilse coffee's Kenyan purchases come through cooperative washing stations, Ibonia represents something different: a single estate where Solomon maintains older SL plant stock alongside Ruiru 11, separates lots by harvest date, and brings a deeply thoughtful, long-term approach to quality that is already evident in the cup.

This lot comes specifically from the Imani Block — a 15-hectare section of the wider estate — where SL-34 and Ruiru 11 grow side by side. SL-34, one of the Scott Laboratories selections developed in the 1930s, is celebrated for its distinctive blackcurrant acidity and full body. Ruiru 11, developed for disease resistance, contributes additional structure and sweetness. Together they produce the ripe, structured, and vibrant profile that has made Kiambu such a compelling growing region.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Ibonia Estate involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries picked at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated to remove defects before processing 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🔍 Density sorting — Sorted by density after depulping 💧 Underwater fermentation — Depulped beans submerged in water to ferment for 16–18 hours 💦 Rinsing & soaking — Thoroughly rinsed, soaked, and rinsed again to remove all mucilage ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on drying beds for 13–15 days

The density sorting combined with the precise 16–18 hour underwater fermentation is the defining step — separating by density ensures consistency before fermentation, while the submerged environment builds the clean, structured complexity and fresh citric acidity that define this lot, with the double rinsing preserving the transparency and clarity of the final cup.

THE CUP

A ripe, vibrant, and beautifully structured single-estate Kenyan from one of Kiambu's most thoughtful producers — clementine brightness, juicy red berry sweetness, and a classic currant depth with the syrupy sweetness and fresh acidity that define great Kenyan coffee. A compelling first release from Ibonia Estate and a producer well worth following.

Flavour Notes

🍊 Clementine 🫐 Red Berries 🫐 Currants