KENYA ENDEBESS NATURAL | January 2026

This January we are serving up a Bean of the Month from an origin all coffee lovers adore – Kenya. The Kenya Endebess is bursting with flavours of stone fruit and brown sugar and when we’ve tried it in our flat whites and lattes, it tastes just like a warm slice of peach crumble!

 As a black coffee there’s a blood orange note which adds a liveliness to the cup, balancing the sweet flavours with clarity and brightness. This naturally processed coffee is a gem from one of the great African coffee nations. 

COFFEE ORIGIN

Country: Kenya
Region: Tranz-Nzoia
Estate: Endebess
Varietals: SL 28, SL 34, Batian, Ruiru 11
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1,600 – 1,800 m above sea level.

Coffee has been grown on the Endebess Estate since the 1940s. This farmland in the foothills of Mt Elgon lies in the Rift Valley, a tectonic crack running down the East of Africa, creating a dramatic landscape of jagged mountains and freshwater lakes, rivers and springs. The old volcanic soil is perfect for coffee growing and every year between February and April Endebess Estate is swathed is a sea of fragrant white coffee blossoms, signalling the start of the cherry growing season. 

By October the fruit are ripening to a deep reddish purple colour: ready to be hand-picked and sorted, before being laid out to dry in the sun in the natural processing method. The beans are turned every few hours to ensure they dry evenly, and carefully covered to protect them from the extreme heat of the midday sun, and the nighttime chill. After around a month of drying, the beans are washed in the freshwater of the Koitobos River, before being finally milled and packed for sale. 

TASTING NOTES & CUPPING PROFILE

Our cupping table loved this naturally processed twist on classical Kenyan flavours. The aromatics were the first sign of something new and exciting, giving us a heavy vanilla fragrance where we’d often expect florals. We picked up some stone fruit notes, which delivered strongly in the cup. 

Peach, plum and apricot combined with brown sugar for a delicious jammy sweetness, and a bright pop of blood orange delivered the trademark vibrancy we love Kenyan coffee for. Medium bodied, with a grape-like acidity, the Kenya Endebess closes with a smooth chocolate and nut finish. 

Aromas: vanilla, stone fruit
Flavours: brown sugar, stone fruit, blood orange
Acidity: grape
Body: medium
Aftertaste: chocolate, nuts
Cupping Score: 85/100.

BREW GUIDE

Forget everything you think you know about Kenyan coffee. Kenya Endebess isn’t your classic double-fermented, razor-sharp washed Kenya. Instead, it’s a juicy, jammy, fruit-bonbon kind of coffee that lets you turn up the brightness without tipping into sour territory.

Brewing it as a filter coffee? Try nudging your grind a little coarser to slow things down and let the juiciness shine. If your beans are already ground and you’re not ready to commit to a new grind, simply bump your water temperature up a degree or two for an easy flavour lift.

Espresso lovers are in for a treat. This coffee is a joy to dial in, packed with natural sweetness and impressively clean for a natural process. Pull it slightly restricted for syrupy shots that really pop, especially as a long black, hot or over ice.

Milk and plant-based milk drinkers will love this one. Expect smooth chocolate, balanced sweetness and that unmistakable peach crumble character that makes a Kenya Endebess latte dangerously easy to drink. Summer comfort in a cup.