- Filter
Jungle Berry
PASSION FRUIT | PEACH | FLORAL
If you used to drink our R3 filters, then this is the right coffee for you.
This coffee is for all you berry lovers out there. It's juicy, sweet and complex. The roast tends to be on the lighter side, highlighting juicyness and making this one of the most lively coffees on our lineup.
The coffee in Jungle Berry right now comes from the Mahiga factory in Kenya. You can read more below.
Adding product to your cart
ABOUT THE COFFEE
Joyce Wambui Mwangi, the mild-mannered successor to former manager superstar Daniel Kingori, is in a select club (pictured is Daniel because Joyce asked not to be photographed). Not just for managing one of the top factories in Nyeri, but also as one of the few female factory managers. Given the male dominance of the profession, she has had to work very hard to earn her stripes. Thankfully, she was trained by the best: Daniel Kingori, undoubtedly one of my favorite coffee people.
During his tenure, Daniel brought the Mahiga factory to the top of all Othaya Co-op’s 19 factories (though only 14 are active), and he still delivers his 2,000 kg of coffee cherry to Mahiga each year. That’s right, Kingori is a coffee farmer too!
The 2024/25 season marked Joyce’s second year as factory manager, and I’ve been very impressed that she has managed to maintain the quality trajectory that Kingori set in motion.
So what makes Mahiga so special?
There is plenty of great coffee in Kenya, but what sets Mahiga apart is its dense sweetness and tropical flavor, lifted with a touch of fresh tomato. It is intense and perfumed, yet balanced with a thick, velvety mouthfeel. It helps greatly that most of the coffee destined for Mahiga is the SL34 variety, widely considered the best variety Kenya has to offer.
As for Othaya Co-op in general, their superpower is vertical integration. While some factories change their marketing agent or milling partner from season to season, Othaya operates its own mill and even founded a cooperative-owned marketing agency to market and export their coffee. This entity is called Kenya Cooperative Coffee Exporters (KCCE).
What I love about KCCE is their fully transparent pricing structure. They take a fixed 2% fee from the total price paid by buyers. This stands in stark contrast to other marketing agents and exporters, who take varying—and non-transparent—amounts from each coffee sale.
– Phil
PAIRS WELL WITH
This review is based upon the Oviedo family grown Don Joel honey processed and not the current Evin Moreno, which is a double-fermented washed process. I will cup and review the latter sometime in the near future.
Notably sweet, Demera sugar comes to mind, real Demerara not Rogers. This becomes very apparent as the coffee cools. It is brightly acidic, citrusy in character. The flavour profile is masked until it cools a bit and, at least for me, takes on a caramelized berry experience on the palate. The finish is long and sweet.
Some may criticize my method, but I don't care. My water to bean ratio is 10 to 1 in a French press, with a slightly coarser than recommended grind. Water off boiling for 2 minutes, no bloom, and a brew of 4 minutes with no stir before plunging. It produces what I see as a near flawless velvety smooth cup.
It is exactly what I would expect of an SL28, honey processed, and grown in Central America.
To clarify, I am a member of the Specialty Coffee Association but am not connected to Phil & Sebastian and my review is unbiased.
Yep sure enjoyed it!
First time I tried Mystic Melon and Jungle Berry at the same time to compare, I found Jungle Berry more "herbal" and Mystic Melon more malted. Not sure if that makes any sense but I loved both!
