Kenya Irowaki from the Hungarian roastery Casino Mocca is a coffee built on a fresh and distinctly fruity profile. Red currant brings juiciness and a slightly tart, playful character; blood orange adds a sweeter citrus note; and pink grapefruit rounds out this fruity ride with a subtle bitterness. You can expect a clean and lively cup in which sweeter fruity notes intertwine with a more pronounced acidity.
The coffee comes from the family-run Irowaki Estate in Kenya’s Kiambu region, one of the country’s well-known coffee-growing areas. The farm is managed by Arphaxad Ironjo Kimani, and the coffee trees grow here at an elevation of 1,500 to 1,800 meters above sea level on red volcanic soil. This type of soil is characterized by the weathering of volcanic rocks and often contains high levels of iron, which gives it its distinctive red color. It is typically well-drained yet retains sufficient moisture and nutrients, creating absolutely ideal conditions for growing coffee trees.
The Irowaki Estate grows the SL28, SL34, and Batian varieties, and the harvest takes place twice a year. This lot comes from the main harvest, which runs from October through December. The SL28 and SL34 varieties are among the traditional Kenyan varieties prized for their high cup quality, while the newer Batian was bred from these varieties with an emphasis on greater disease resistance.
The coffee was processed using the traditional washed method. Hand-picked ripe cherries are first stripped of their skin and part of the pulp, then undergo spontaneous fermentation, during which naturally occurring microorganisms do their work without the addition of a starter culture. The beans are then thoroughly washed, soaked in water, and finally slowly dried on raised African drying beds. This process helps remove any remaining pulp while allowing for even and controlled drying of the coffee. The washed processing brings out a bright and juicy profile with distinct fruity notes.