Kenya Peaberry Kericho County

Blind Assessment: Sweetly pungent, lightly savory. Unusual aromatics: floral-toned honey, plum, musk, a hint of coriander in aroma and cup. Crisply sweet, savory-edged structure; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Dry and gently flavor-saturated in the finish.

Notes: Produced from trees of the SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11 varieties of Arabica and processed by the wet or “washed” method, in which skin and fruit flesh are removed from the beans or seeds before they are dried. This sample consists entirely of peaberries, a kind of bean that results when the coffee fruit develops only a single, oval bean rather than the usual pair of flat-sided beans. Peaberries produce a somewhat different (often better) cup than normal beans from the same crop, from which they may or may not be separated during grading. Despite grower discontent and urban encroachment on prime coffee lands, Kenya continues to produce some of the world’s most elegant and distinctive coffees. Caffè Luxxe is an Italian-inflected artisan roaster and retailer that emphasizes both its coffee knowledge and precision and its straightforward lack of pretension. Visit www.caffeluxxe.com or call 310-394-2222 for more information.

The Bottom Line : An unorthodox but original and engaging variation on the Kenya cup, juxtaposing sweetness and a musky, herby-savory edge.