Kamavindi [SL-28 Washed] | Kenya

Kenya — Mbature Family Kamavindi Estate SL-28 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Blackcurrant • 🍊 Blood Orange • 🍯 Brown Sugar • 🌸 Honeysuckle

DETAILS

• Producer: Peter Mbature & the Mbature Family
• Farm: Kamavindi Estate
• Region: Embu County, Kenya (Mt Kenya southeastern slopes)
• Varietal: SL-28
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,680 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

This washed SL-28 from the Kamavindi Estate in Embu County is the kind of Kenyan coffee that reminds you why the origin holds such a revered place in specialty coffee. Sourced by Tanat from Peter Mbature and his family, this filter-roasted lot delivers the vibrant, layered profile that defines the best of Kenya's high-altitude growing regions.

In the cup, jammy blackcurrant meets blood orange acidity and brown sugar sweetness, finishing with honeysuckle and tea-like florals. Silky in texture and structured in acidity, this is a Kenyan coffee of real heritage and character.

THE PRODUCER

Kamavindi Estate was founded in 1958 by the late John Njiru Mbature during British colonial rule, beginning with just 100 coffee trees — the legal limit for native Africans at the time. When restrictions were lifted in 1961, the farm expanded rapidly. Today, under the third-generation leadership of Peter Mbature alongside his mother Hellen Weveti and sister Gladwell Wanjira, Kamavindi has grown to 10,000 trees, predominantly SL-28 and SL-34 with smaller numbers of Ruiru 11 and Batian.

Peter Mbature has invested significantly in the farm's infrastructure and community, establishing an on-site cupping lab and training centre that supports local farmers in quality development and sustainable practice. He holds a Q Grader certification — one of the first small estate growers in Kenya to do so — and has forged direct relationships with some of the world's leading roasters through his commitment to transparency and traceability.

THE PROCESS

The meticulous washed process at Kamavindi involves:

• 🍒 Hand-Picking — Cherries selected at peak ripeness and hand-sorted
• ✅ Floating & Sorting — Floated to remove defects and further hand-sorted
• 🔧 Depulping — Depulped on the day of harvest
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation I — 18–20 hours in darkness
• 💧 Channel Washing — Washed repeatedly in fresh water until water runs clear
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation II — Additional 24-hour fermentation
• 💧 Final Wash & Density Sort — Washed through channels to sort by density and remove remaining defects
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Slow sun-drying on raised African beds

This double-fermentation washed method extracts remarkable clarity and structural depth from the SL-28 variety.

THE CUP

A vibrant and layered Kenya that opens with jammy blackcurrant before blood orange acidity and brown sugar sweetness carry the palate through a long, tea-like finish with honeysuckle florality. Silky, structured, and deeply satisfying — a filter coffee that showcases the true character of SL-28 at altitude.

Flavour Notes

• 🫐 Blackcurrant
• 🍊 Blood Orange
• 🍯 Brown Sugar
• 🌸 Honeysuckle