https://royalcoffee.com/product/cj1349/

I'm patiently waiting to make a big purchase of Kenyan coffee for this year.

I'd much rather buy a bunch of 2lb samples from Sweet Maria's, and then buy 20lbs of exactly what I wanted. But, I'm not sure when they will release their Kenya. They tend to trickle things out, it seems.

I had a good experience with crown jewel's Honduras natural last winter. It was a bit expensive, but was pretty exceptional. I also bought some inexpensive Colombia at the time. It was good, but nothing special. I feel like their pricing is a good indicator of quality (from my very limited sample size).

I just wish I could sample before buying 22lbs. That's a years supply for me for 1 type of bean.

I also have been wanting to snag a tasty Kenyan and have always wanted to try something from Royal. I'd be happy to set up and do a group buy if we could get a few others. Would you or anyone else be down to split?

Just got a box in last week, and would like to share; beautiful looking greens.

Share your experience? Or your beans?
Come on, heat some up!! Let us know!

They are pretty heavy with the citrus descriptors. Not sure I've had Kenya that I'd describe like that.

I'm looking forward to see what you think.

hankua wrote:Just got a box in last week, and would like to share; beautiful looking greens.

He did share
I visited Hank this weekend as he is nearby and he had just roasted some, I brought it home to try in my Robot
but I haven't had a chance to yet, possibly tomorrow!

Just went back to the Royal page on the CJ1349 Kenyan, they're still roasting at home not the office. The roasting notes are not clear to me, maybe Candice thought this coffee may not fare well roasted nordic?

I've done two roasts on this bean, the first went 11:07, 1C @ 196.7*c, 1:49 RD, 205.7*c drop; second was 10:50, 1c @ 195.8*c, 1:30 RD, 202.3*c drop. So far I have only V-60 brewed the first one at 16/1.

On the tasting notes and my palate is horrible; lemon rind, stone fruit (cherry, peach, etc.), juicy mouthfeel. If you want to throw in chocolate, it would be bakers chocolate at the end with a hint of bitterness. The last note could be my roast/profile...

I pulled the shot this morning, the sample from Hank I have is from his second roast (202.3C finish). Smells great in the bag, using my Kinu it needs to go about 1 number finer than what I've been pulling some Ethiopians, it ran a bit fast and only peaked at 6 bar on the Robots gauge.
That gave me a good indication of the taste to me so I didn't pull a second shot of it today, I have at least 6 other coffees sitting here at the moment.
It's a very good Kenyan not excessive in the Citrus notes that may have concerned me pulling it for espresso, acidity middle of the road for Kenyans. Average on complexity comparing to others I've roasted in the past.
For my ratings comparing to one of the best Kenyans I roasted years ago from SM the Neyri Hill that was a 94 pt
I would give this a 90-91. Very nice indeed, the roast was nicely developed and didn't suffer any off notes, may benefit from a slight longer finish for espresso.
I only drink espresso so not the fairest comparison for a coffee like this & at this roast level, I would certainly push it more with MAX and my GS3 at home and expect more out of it.

Just took my first stab at these beans. Thanks, Hank for the hook up!

They roasted just as easy as could be. Followed my last Kenya profile and it turned out very nice for a first roast.
I have to agree with Hank, they are beautiful looking beans. They are extremely homogeneous in there appearance. Maybe this is why they roast easily, also.

I probably should have let them ride out a little longer. I wanted to avoid the flick, and they just look so good with that mottled appearance!




I'm looking forward to drinking these after a few days of rest.