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Karinga Gitwe Microlot – Second Best Coffee

Andrew Pautler

Coffee Details

  • Coffee Name
    Karinga Gitwe Microlot
  • Roaster
    Second Best Coffee
  • Roaster Location
    Kansas City, MO
  • Estimated Price
    $21 / 12oz
  • Flavor Notes
    Lemonheads and rhubarb
  • Process
    washed
  • Varieties
    SL-28, SL-34
  • Country
    Kenya
  • Region
    Karinga
  • Roast
    Light
  • Review Brew Method
    v60, Chemex, espresso

Coffee Scoring

8.9
Aroma
8 / 10
Body
8 / 10
Flavor
9 / 10
Acidity/Brightness
10 / 10
Balance
9 / 10
Sweetness
10 / 10
Cleanliness
9 / 10
Aftertaste
9 / 10
Complexity
8 / 10
Flexibility
9 / 10
Pros
  • Really nice sharp sweetness
  • Great, juicy acidity

Cons
  • Body felt a bit thin
  • Aroma drops out a bit at brewing

A few weeks ago I recently had the chance to visit Second Best during a visit to Kansas City. It’s a great shop with one of the most beautiful espresso machines I’ve ever seen. (You can read more of my thoughts and see some photos of their shop in my post about my trip.)

While there, I picked up a bag of their Kenyan Karinga Gitwe Microlot. It has a lot of the stereotypical character traits of a Kenyan coffee—it was beautifully acidic and had a really nice sharp sweetness. The flavor notes I tasted were lemon, grapefruit and some subtle vanilla. My main critique was that its body felt a bit thin and the fragrance, which was very pronounced initially with raisin and lemon notes initially, dropped off a lot after brewing.

The Bottom Line

Overall this was a great coffee that fit nicely into my favorite profile—bright, acidity and sweet. It didn’t have anything that really differentiated it from other Kenyan coffee’s I’ve tried though, so while it was good and I’ll gladly finish the bag, I won’t be rushing back to buy it again.

Free Download

Download the free, printable coffee brew guide cheatsheet

  • Quick reference for ratios, water temp & brew times
  • 8 brew methods including chemex, V60, aeropress & more
  • Serving sizes and tips for each brew method
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