MATKA NA SABACIE, Kenya
Blackcurrant, Papaya, Vanilla Cola
| Producer | Smallholder members of Mutitu Factory |
| Region | Kathekiini, Kirinyaga County, Kenya |
| Varietal | Batian, SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11 |
| Processing | Washed |
| Altitude | 1,500 - 2,000 MASL |
Matka na Sabacie is the work of smallholder members of the Mutitu factory in Kathekiini, Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Batian, SL28, SL34 and Ruiru 11 are delivered as ripe cherry and washed at 1,500 to 2,000 MASL, producing blackcurrant, papaya and a vanilla-cola sweetness.
SL28 is a Kenyan selection from the 1930s, drawn at Scott Agricultural Laboratories from drought-resistant Tanganyika stock. Aligned with the Bourbon group, it is prized for structure, blackcurrant acidity and long ageing potential, and remains uncommon outside East Africa.
In the washed process, cherry is pulped and the remaining mucilage fermented and rinsed away before drying. Stripping the fruit early lets the bean's intrinsic acidity and clarity speak, the cleanest expression of a varietal and its origin.
Kenya pairs rich volcanic soils with a rigorous central washing-station system and SL varietals, producing some of the most structured, blackcurrant-driven coffees in the world.
