Kenya has a reputation for producing some of the best coffee in the world, but that doesn’t come easy. A long history of colonialism and political corruption has pervaded the country, creating an obstacle course of red tape and bureaucracy for coffee producers. This creates a system that encourages high prices, only for middlemen and ‘marketers’ to take more than the lions share of it. This leaves the farmer with few reasons to improve his crop or avenues to distinguish it from a neighbours.

Sakami, run by Gloria and Jarmo, have been trying to buck the system since their inception. They provide stable and fair employment to their communities, and try to help farmers pool their money to get better deals on credit and resources. They’ve purchased their own wet mill, run only only solar energy, to reclaim oversight on key parts of production. Crucially, they have their own export license, allowing them to circumvent the bad business practices of the auction system. All of this allows them to offer traceable single farm lots in an otherwise untraceable market.

A classic washed Kenyan, this AB SL28 offering from Sakami has a great balance of sweetness, acidity, and body. It has notes of currants, tart plum jam, stone fruit, with a sweetness like sugarcane.