Fresh Cuts: Vol. 1

This first edition features a peaberry selection from the Giakanja factory in Nyeri, Kenya.

Giakanja is supplied with cherries by local smallholder farmers, typically growing coffee on plots of land generally smaller than one hectare with 250-300 trees on average. This lot is comprised of SL28, SL34, Batian and Ruiru 11 varieties.

Cherries are sorted for defects and only the dense, ripe cherries are accepted. They are then pulped on a 2-stage McKinnon pulper, floated and soaked for 12-24 hours, and then washed and dried on raised beds. Once dried, the coffee is ‘dry milled’ where the papery layer protecting the coffee bean is removed. The beans are then graded by size, with AA being the largest, followed by AB, PB being the peaberry, and further on, which is where this particular lot is a little different.

Peaberries are significantly smaller, rounded coffee beans — the result of a genetic mutation in which only one seed forms inside the cherry instead of the usual two. This means that there’s no other bean to press up against during ripening, causing the round, pea-like shape that gives the coffee its name.