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Kenya Kirimahiga

Earlier this week I received a kilo of Kenyan from Reiss. There's a full review coming, but the short story is this: if you like big fruity crema bombs then this is the espresso for you.

For now, I'll leave you with this little gem:



image

19.6 grams of beans, poured into about the same shot volume.

Comments

  • Wow, how fine are you grinding
  • Pretty fine - but not so fine that the burrs are touching!

    Not that it means anything, but about 2 - 3 stops from the end on a Breville Smart Grinder, not crazily fine.

    I'd normally do split shots for that bean volume and aim for around 40ml or so across both shots. This bean was a challenge to master however. It took a bit of work to find the right grind, temperature and output dose - extremely different from my usual settings.

    But once you've found it, you'll know you've hit jackpot with this one. Not to my usual taste, but a very, very interesting and flavoursome brew.
  • I normally do 15.8g of beans, but after reading your post put in the 20g VST basket with 18g of beans, and went 10 degrees finer on the HG1 to 290 degrees, wow, very rich and fruity, but with a bittersweet finish
  • It's amazing what a profound difference that kind of change can make.

    I'm also looking forward to getting an L1 - more and more, as I change the temp on the PID to deal with different beans, I'm convinced the temp profile of a lever will produce the goods more reliably and more simply than a machine with a flat extraction temp.
  • yeah, it would be fun to tweak the temp on the L1 occasionally though with a favourite bean, to see if you can get more out of it, but it's a tad fiddly
  • Have you tried the same bean with the same dose on the L1 already?
  • Kelsey Brookes post=812 wrote: Earlier this week I received a kilo of Kenyan from Reiss. There's a full review coming, but the short story is this: if you like big fruity crema bombs then this is the espresso for you.

    For now, I'll leave you with this little gem:



    image

    19.6 grams of beans, poured into about the same shot volume.

    Kelsey! I finally got around to trying your formula of the large dose in a larger basket. Much more thick sweetness to my surprise. I generated this video, for which I must apologize because playing barista with one hand AND taking a video is a bit daunting. Remembering what to do at what time and get the proper tamp was all not correct but it amazingly came out OK!

    22g EPNW basket with 20g Kenyan with a waaaaay to long a pre-infusion.
  • James Springfield post=1959 wrote: Mmmm, treacle

    After I looked it up I agree!! Treacle.
  • My girl friend likes to clean up the kitchen and put things in drawers and this weekend I re-discovered, in the far end of a drawer, a bag of Kenya Kirimahiga AA Lot B003 that Reiss roasted late in november. I tried it and it's currently a favorite with my girl friend, her daughter and me! So it will be gone very quickly now. Delicious! Lingering on the tongue for long after the last sip, a real treat.
  • Thats what i'm drinking too, its yummy
    Cant afford the DHL for beans now though and cant find it locally to roast :(
  • This morning, 12-days post roast of the recent Londinium Kenya, I couldn't hold out any longer and had to open the bag :) ...

    Wow...a strong and near intoxicating aroma purged from the bag! The pungent yet sweet smell reminded me of scotch, bourbon, etc. Very different!

    Using the Pharos and 16g of beans I pulled a very respectable opening shot from this Kenya. Although I certainly can't provide you with an arm's length of descriptors I can tell you this Kenya is very floral, sweet and wonderful with a hint of wood/nut.

    After opening the bag I was almost intimidated to pull it! :lol: But its refined and wonderful in the cup!

    Can't wait to taste it over the next few days...I'm sure it will open up a bit more.

    Thanks Reiss!
  • Interesting how it apears that a longer rest can do the beans a world of good. Yesterday I bought two packs from a local roaster and he said to wait 2-3 weeks before opening, and I read this from an Australian roaster: "Cupping 21 days after roast, coffees are super clean and tasty." (link)
  • Just roasted a locally sourced kenyan for the first time
    Hopefully the first roast i've really nailed too
    Now i have to decide when to open the bag
    Hmmmm decisions decisions
  • Ok...interested in hearing other's feedback on this bean.

    Here are my stats:

    I bought 500g that was roasted on 12/30.

    I let it rest unopened in the bags for 14-days then divided into small glass jars, vac sealed and placed in the freezer except what I needed for 2-3 days of morning espressos/capps.

    Dosing at 16g in the stock LL basket; 25g brew weight; ~25-second pulls; 60-62 degrees F ambient; 1.25bar; perfect to near perfect pours without channeling and/or spritzing.

    The 14th, 15th and 16th day post roast, on the portion of beans that hadn't been frozen, offered up very defined flavor profiles including a nice roasted nut/wood finish/backside with nice fruit on the front side. These shots were well within the top 20 shots I've tasted anywhere...very, very enjoyable.

    Then as I've been using these beans from the freezer, again within 2-3 days of removal from the freezer and stored in the sealed glass jar on the counter-top, the flavor profile became compressed without the succinct layers of flavor I had on the original go and definitely missing the roasted nut/wood with a very sharp citrus component instead; tannic grapefruit might be what I'd describe. And now I'm getting a very tannic taste that lingers for 15-minutes or more...making a water wash down a must for me.

    Any words of wisdom from those that have played with this bean? Is this more/less normal or what tweak am I missing?
  • I purchased some of these beans from Reiss and found them to be good! I did not unpackage and refreeze. I froze the bags upon delivery and then used what was needed from the individual bag that I took out of the freezer AND immediately put into an airtight container (not a vacuum container) and the beans lasted well.

    I gave a bag to a friend of mine to try and he enjoyed it as much as I did. He did not refreeze it.
  • I ordered 4 x 250g bags, which were 10 days post roast when they arrived, put 3 bags in the freezer, tried the last bag straight away, but a bit gassy still, so waited a few days, and it was lovely

    I just pull a bag out of the freezer leave it a few hours to a day to defrost and finish it within a week, so don't bother repacking into smaller containers etc

    I do dose 18g into a 20g VST and get a lovely fruit bomb with gentle acid finish though

    I'm currently roasting kenyan AB grade it's nice but a bit rough around the edges compared to these londinium beans

    http://ministrygrounds.com.au/green-coffee/africa/kenya-karimikui-ab-washed-2013-green.html
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