Crown Jewel Decaf Kenya Swiss Water Process Nyeri County Mutheka and Othaya Cooperatives

taste

Taste Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano 

Through rounds of cupping across multiple facilities from the Bay Area to Vancouver, the fruits of labor have come to fruition in the form of this Kenya Decaf. This lot is a collaboration with Royal and Swiss Water and is one of the first decaf Kenyans many of us at The Crown have tried.  

On the cupping table, we get some classic Kenyan notes like citrus, tomato, and molasses. Processing flavor is minimal, with accents of cinnamon bun, orange soda, and berry. The weight and body of this coffee holds down the profile, making it the perfect candidate for espresso or a drip coffee.  

Source

Source Analysis by Chris Kornman with Mayra Orellana-Powell 

Royal does its fair share of “toll” decaffeination, which is the term we use for all of our “Royal Select” line of decaffeinated coffees: we source the green coffee and then ship it (in this case to Canada) to have it decaffeinated, and then ship it again to our warehouse.  

This coffee, however, is something quite different and far more unique, resulting from nearly a year of planning. Let me give you the background.  

In July of 2024, Nelson Teskey (Assistant Director of Coffee, SWP) and Mike Strumpf (Director of Coffee, SWP) started a conversation with Isabella and myself about an educational event in Oakland. In these conversations, we began discussing the possibility of collaboratively sourcing a coffee and decaffeinating it, as a part of SWP’s “Small Batch Series.” Kenya was suggested as an origin of interest and I put the Swiss Water team in touch with Caitlin McCarthy-Garcia, who helped them pick out a blend of two cooperatives, offered from fly (i.e., off-season) harvests. 

 As it happened, a small amount of one of the lots, from Othaya’s Rukira factory, made it into our Crown Jewel boxes a few weeks ago (and has, unsurprisingly, already sold out). 

We were fortunate enough to host Nelson just last weekend for local roasters and decaf enthusiasts, where attendees were treated to the rare experience of tasting multiple coffees (including this Kenya) in both their standard and decaffeinated iterations. 

Well, the wait is finally over, the coffee is tasting great and we’re thrilled to release our first decaffeinated Crown Jewel in over a year, and our first ever collaboratively sourced decaf. It preserves so much of the lovely character of origin and process, which speaks to the success of SWP’s methods, and honors the work of the farmers and processors in Kenya, some of our longest-standing members of our supply network there. 

For those unfamiliar, during the Swiss Water process, the green coffee is hydrated to expand the beans for caffeine extraction. The hydrated green coffee is then introduced to Green Coffee Extract (GCE), a unique solution of concentrated coffee solubles that allows the caffeine to leave the green coffee via osmosis while minimizing the loss of desired flavor compounds. Once the caffeine has been removed the green coffee is re-dried and re-bagged for transport, and the GCE is filtered of its caffeine through proprietary carbon filters and recycled to be used again. 

Green

Green Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano 

A collab between Royal and Swiss water, the team is stoked to bring you this Kenyan decaf. You’ll find a condensed screen size in the 16-18 range, along with slightly higher moisture content and water activity. During processing, the green coffee is soaked to remove caffeine and then re-dried. Because of this step in processing, it is common to see higher water activity and moisture content in decaf coffees. This is also why you often see darker colored green coffee.  

Diedrich

Diedrich IR5 Analysis by Doris Garrido 

Not too long ago, we released a Kenya Nyeri coffee as part of our Crown Jewel program. That same coffee was taken by The Swiss water coffee from Vancouver Canada to get decaffeinated and is now back as our new Decaf offering. 

For this roast analysis, I used 2 kilograms of decaffeinated green coffee and aimed for a gentle roast profile. Having roasted the washed version of this coffee, I was aware of its inherent sweetness, and I went ahead to accentuate that characteristic on the roast. 

I charged the roaster at 416F with a low gas setting of 45%. The turning point occurred slightly rapidly, prompting me to increase the gas application later in the roast. Around the 3-minute mark, I increase the gas to 70%, and then to 80% a minute later. Due to the small batch size, I closely monitored the coffee’s energy absorption. After color change, which occurred at 4 minutes and 40 seconds / 304F, I began decreasing the gas to 60%, gradually lowering it to 30% as we approached the first crack. I maximized the airflow as I neared the first crack. For the development phase, I utilized the residual heat in the drum, allowing the coffee to develop for one minute and 33 seconds, and dropped the coffee at 411F. 

In the cup, I detected a minimal taste of the decaffeination process, which allowed me to taste a little more of the Kenya inherited flavors of the coffee, which exhibited sweet notes of Valencia oranges, white wine, and sweet peach, with a subtle chamomile finish.  

IKAWa

Ikawa Pro V3 Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano 

Our current Ikawa practice compares two sample roast profiles, originally designed for different densities of green coffee. The two roasts differ slightly in total length, charge temperature, and time spent between color change in first crack. You can learn more about the profiles here. 

A new decaf? And a Kenya? Aren’t you lucky. For me, this is the first Kenyan coffee I have tasted in decaf form.  

The light-density roast is very sweet and straightforward, with lots of chocolate flavors alongside plum and raisin. The high-density roast also leans chocolate-forward but brings higher acidity, with citrus, tomato, and creamy mouthfeel. 

Both roasts are delicious, but if you would like to explore the acidity, I would consider exploring the high-density profile. Happy Cupping! 

You can roast your own by linking to our profiles in the Ikawa Pro app here: 

• Roast 1: Low Density Sample Roast 
• Roast 2: High Density Sample Roast   

Brew

Brew Analysis by Joshua Wismans

Decaf doesn’t always make its way to our Crown Jewel menu, but when it does, it’s for a good reason.  This coffee is an exciting example of what the Swiss Water decaffeination process is capable of, and we’re proud to bring the project to fruition.  This is a rare decaf option that I’d absolutely recommend offering as a pour-over, with the possibility of using different brewers to bring out different aspects of this incredible decaf.

Our first recommended brew was one on the V60, using a finer grind and moderate dose. This brew came in with a lower TDS but was full of flavor. There was a great tangerine acidity complimented by a Swiss cake roll like sweetness and body that was super delicious. 

Our other recommended brew was on the Kalita Wave. With a flat bottom brewer, we found a coarser grind worked better. This brew had a more delicate profile, with more orange and raisins being front and center with a mellower body. Overall, the brew was more delicate but still had sweetness and acidity. 

For this coffee, regardless of brewer, we recommend dialing a lower TDS.  With the Hario V60, a finer grind will still work, and you’ll get more of a cakey sweetness to complement a citrus acidity. With the Wave, use a coarser grind for a more delicate profile.