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Karinga Kenya – Madcap Coffee

Andrew Pautler

Coffee Details

  • Coffee Name
    Karinga
  • Roaster
    Madcap
  • Roaster Location
    Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Estimated Price
    $22.50 / 12oz
  • Flavor Notes
    Grapefruit, violet, plum
  • Process
    Washed
  • Varieties
    SL-28, SL-34
  • Country
    Kenya
  • Region
    Thika District, Central Province
  • Elevation
    1900 MASL
  • Producer
    Members of Karinga Factory
  • Roast
    Light
  • Review Brew Method
    v60, Chemex, espresso
  • Roast Date
    July 17, 2019
  • Review Date
    July 28, 2019

Coffee Scoring

9.2
Aroma
9 / 10
Body
9 / 10
Flavor
9 / 10
Acidity/Brightness
10 / 10
Balance
9 / 10
Sweetness
9 / 10
Cleanliness
9 / 10
Aftertaste
9 / 10
Complexity
10 / 10
Flexibility
9 / 10
Pros
  • Nice complexity
  • Wonderful brightness throughout

Cons
  • Expensive

Disclosure: Pull & Pour received coffee samples for this post, however, as always, all opinions are 100% my own.

A good Kenyan coffee is hard to beat. The brightness, complexity and intensity of it all makes for an incredibly delicious coffee. Karinga from Madcap is exactly that.

I recently had the opportunity to do a roastery tour at Madcap and at the end, they offered a bag of their freshly roasted coffee (as in roasted minutes earlier). Karinga was on the top of my list, so that is what I picked. Since being home, I’ve enjoyed exploring this coffee immensely. Start to finish, it is one of the best Kenyan coffees I’ve ever tried and as you can see form the score, one of the best coffees I’ve reviewed for Pull & Pour.

It begins with a high-intensity aroma that is bright, light and a wonderful mix of fruit and floral notes. As I began to drink the coffee, I was very impressed with the wonderfully sharp citrus notes that come through with a really nice, strong, yet balanced acidity. The sharp citrus notes I found to be balanced well with some subtle floral notes throughout. At the finish, there is some wonderful acidity that sparkles at the back of your tongue after each sip.

I enjoyed the coffee most in my v60 pour over because I found it brought out the acidity the best. That said, it worked really well in Chemex and espresso as well!

The Bottom Line

This coffee is everything a Kenyan coffee should be and was near perfect from start to finish. There is so much going on flavor and profile-wise, yet everything works together in harmony. As a result, this is one of the most complex and balanced coffees I’ve had recently and absolutely one you shouldn’t miss.

Free Download

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  • 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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