Drink of the Week: Camber Coffee Kenya Karatina Peaberry

In our November/December 2023 issue, we explore the delightful flavor diversity found among coffees from Africa. Candice Madison, a certified Q Grader and founder of Kandake Boutique Coffees, offers a beginner’s guide to beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania, and also highlights some of the roasters that stock excellent examples. And so it came to pass that I was fortunate enough to have a bag from Bellingham-based roaster Camber Coffee (long a favorite around the Imbibe office) cross my desk.

The Kenya Karatina Peaberry is from Nyeri, one of Madison’s favorite regions in the central highlands of Kenya. “[The coffees] speak to my preferred profile of phosphoric acid brightness—think that ineffable bubbly brightness of sodas such as Coca-Cola,” Madison notes. From the Karatina Factory, which processes beans from nearly 1,500 smallholders, the washed coffee offers a lovely, delicate flavor profile, with notes of cherry blossom, juicy white peach and a zip of citrus. While I personally like to stir a little honey into lighter roasted coffees to emphasize the inherent fruity sweetness, the Kenya Karatina offers balanced perfection when brewed via pour over and sipped black. $24/12 oz., cambercoffee.com