Kenya — Mbature Family Kamavindi Estate SL28 (Washed, Peaberry)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Blackcurrant • 🍈 Grapefruit • 🌿 Rhubarb • 🍬 Brown Sugar

DETAILS

• Producer: Peter Mbature, Hellen & Gladwell Mbature
• Farm: Kamavindi Estate
• Region: Kibugo, Embu, Kenya
• Varietal: SL28
• Process: Washed, Peaberry Selection
• Elevation: 1,638–1,750 masl

INTRO
Kamavindi Estate sits at 1,638–1,750 masl in Embu, on the windward side of Mount Kenya. This lot is SL28, washed in the classic Kenyan way, then sorted down to peaberry — the single round seed that forms when only one of the two seeds in a cherry develops. Blackcurrant, the SL28 signature, leads here, with grapefruit carrying the acidity and rhubarb running tart through the middle. In the cup: blackcurrant, grapefruit, rhubarb, and brown sugar.

THE PRODUCER
John Njiru Mbature planted Kamavindi in 1958, starting with the hundred trees colonial law then allowed, expanding once restrictions lifted. His son Peter farms it today alongside his mother Hellen and sister Gladwell, steadily replanting toward pure SL28, and sharing what they learn with smallholders in the surrounding village of Kibugo. At the end of last year, a slow-drying indoor dark room was introduced to dry the coffee more gently and hold onto clarity, sweetness, and structure — a project that's continued into this year. Kamavindi is also where what may be the first Geisha ever cultivated in Kenya was found.

SL28 was selected in the 1930s by Scott Laboratories from drought-hardy material, becoming the benchmark for Kenyan quality. The plants are tall, tough, and remarkably long-lived, with some original trees still bearing fruit decades later — though they carry little natural defence against leaf rust and coffee berry disease, demanding real care to keep healthy.

THE PROCESS
This lot uses the same trees and washing as Kamavindi's standard SL28/SL34 lot, but is separated by screen size after milling to isolate the peaberry seeds — only a small share of any harvest comes out this way. The seed selection, not a different variety or process, is what sets this lot apart.

The peaberry separation is the defining step — its single, dense seed structure concentrates the classic blackcurrant and citrus character that define this cup.

THE CUP
Blackcurrant leads, as is signature for SL28, with grapefruit carrying the acidity and rhubarb running tart through the middle. Brown sugar sits underneath, holding the whole cup together.

Flavour Notes
🫐 Blackcurrant 🍈 Grapefruit 🌿 Rhubarb 🍬 Brown Sugar