
Endebess | Kenya
Welcoming ENDEBESS, a 1600-1800masl natural SL28, SL34, ruiru 11 & batian variety mix grown at Endebess Estate in Nzoia, Kenya.
Expect to taste: mixed berries, chocolate mousse, watermelon, grape candy, jasmine, lime, christmas pudding, black tea & apricot jam
CORE INFO
TL;DR: Endebess, more like: ain’t it the best! This coffee is the best of both worlds - bright, clean, and juicy as you’d expect from Kenya, with some added layers of dried fruit & syrupy sweetness. Get your fill of candy & cake in liquid form - it’s like every Hallowe’en & Christmas rolled into one!
Coffee in Kenya is generally grown by smallholders on less than 4 hectares of land, Endebess is a bit different, with the estate covering 758 hectares, with 30% of the land being dedicated to coffee.
This is an instance where size really does matter, as the owners of the estate are very committed to social welfare and have had the ability so far to renovate & build 15 houses, and sponsor the education of many children in the area.
Another noticeable difference with this coffee is the processing. Most coffees in Kenya are fully washed and dried on raised beds. This meticulous approach has seen many washing station managers in their jobs for decades, ensuring constant improvement in processing, and gained Kenya a reputation for some of - if not, the best - washed coffees on the planet. This, however, is a mbuni, or natural processed coffee. Endebess estate has a long history of great quality, and that has lead them to be able to start processing coffees differently, while upholding a very high standard.
We roasted this coffee with an aim to really highlight the acidity and sweetness you would expect from a Kenyan coffee, along with balancing the extra texture and fun flavours the natural process has brought to the party. This meant plenty of oomph early in the roast and being SUPER gentle towards the end, keeping temps a little cooler than usual, but giving the coffee a bit more time in the roaster.
BREWING SUGGESTIONS
We prefer our filter brews from a v60, but we won’t judge for use of anything at all to make yourself a coffee - even a (clean) sock.
Our recommended ratio when brewing filter coffee is 60g of coffee per litre of water. Simply scale this down, or up, for your desired size of brew.
With all methods, you’ll want: a grind size similar to granulated sugar, boiling water, and about 3 minutes of brewing time. This goes for v60, aeropress, plunger, and the (still hopefully clean) sock.
Our favourite recipe for v60:
- 20g of medium to coarsely ground coffee, it’ll feel a little like granulated sugar.
- Set your kettle to boil, and ready your socks to be rocked.
- We use a 60g bloom, with a swirl of the slurry to make sure it’s all wet. You can stir of that’s easier, just don’t rip the paper!
- After that, when your timer is at 45 seconds, add more water to a total of 200g, and swirl gently.
- Then finally at 1:15 on your timer, add the rest of your water, to 330g, and do one last little swirl.
- Wait till it drains through, roughly 3:30 is a good time, pour into your favourite mug, and let those socks be rocked.
If you’d like more info or tips, get in touch! hello@coreroasters.cc