Kenya Gachatha AB is a meticulously processed washed coffee that exhibits an impressively intricate acidity. Cameron from Padre South Melbourne Market shares his recipe and talks a bit about the coffee's origin.
I am privileged to be part of Padre Coffee’s fortnightly Fresh Crop exclusive. This week I’m proud to be presenting Kenya Gachatha AB, our latest single-origin coffee!
Grown on 391 acres across the villages of Muthuaini, Thiriku, Gachenge and Kianjau in Kenya. This single origin is a washed processed bean with plenty of character!
The first thing I noticed when reading up on the coffee was the supposed flavour notes of cola. Something I hadn’t yet experienced in a coffee. Along with the acidic and juicy flavours of the grapefruit and blackberry, I knew that I wanted to pick a brewing method where I could really manipulate the time to ensure I got a quicker, more controlled brew time to bring out those acidic notes.
The brewing method I chose to extract the unique flavours of the Kenya Gachatha AB bean was a filtered 1-cup pour using the V60. The V60 extracts a gorgeous, subtle brew allowing you to taste every aspect of the bean as a black coffee without the robust punchiness that you receive from an espresso.
When it comes to the V60 there are many ways to prepare a beautiful cup of coffee. You can change the number of pours you use, change the volume of water in each pour, even change the way you pour the water from the kettle itself!
These are only some of the variables you can manipulate and to some… this can be overwhelming. It was for me at first anyway. This is why I’m a big supporter of the K.I.S.S method in life. Keep. It. Simple…uh… Silly.
For me, I used a straightforward method to brew one cup of the Kenya Gachatha AB. Using just three pours to get to 250ml with 50/100/100 splits using a dose of 15g of medium-course ground coffee.
It doesn’t matter how simple the recipe is, the V60 always seems to bring out the best of each bean and to me, it's one of the most enjoyable ways to brew.
You feel like YOU are brewing the coffee and not the machine or fancy device. I like to compare it to the difference between driving a manual car over an automatic. The experience itself can be a truly meditative and relaxing one; a good way to start a lazy day off or a stressful day ahead!
Now… enough chit-chat, let's get brewing!
EQUIPMENT
RECIPE
PREPERATIONS
Begin by boiling your kettle. 96-98 degrees Celsius is ideal, if you can’t measure your temperature don’t fret! Just boiled water works fine.
As the water heats up, measure out 15g of Kenya Gachatha and grind it to a medium-course grind.
Set up your Hario V60 by placing the coffee server on top of the scales and the V60 onto the server.
Fold a filter paper along the seam and place it into the V60.
Once the kettle has heated up, saturate the filter paper by pouring in the boiled water. Ensuring all the filter paper is wet. This will help in heating up the V60 and server and remove any “papery” taste that the filter paper may contaminate your brew with.
Empty the water out of the server and add your freshly ground coffee, giving it a gentle shake to ensure the coffee bed is even.
Re-tare your scales and we are ready to go!
METHOD
00:00 – 00:40
Start your timer and slowly pour in the middle of the coffee bed. Gradually circle your way to the edges to ensure all the coffee is wet. Pour until your scales hit 50g.
Gently swirl the V60 to evenly wet the coffee bed and wait until the 40-second mark to allow the coffee to bloom.
Pour 1, done, TICK!
00:40 – 1:30
Once the timer hits 40 seconds begin your second pour.
Same as the bloom, gently pour in the centre of the coffee bed and slowly make your way to the edges. Pour until your scales hit 150g.
Your second pour is done and dusted.
1:30 – 2:50
Ideally if your grind is correct, the water would have just completed bleeding through the coffee bed at around 1:30. At this time complete your final pour to total up to 250g!
Lastly, gently swirl the V60 and server together to let the grooves of the V60 catch any ‘fines’ on the side of the wall. Preventing them from ending up in your final product.
2:50 – 3:00
Allow the V60 to completely drain into your server. Once done remove the V60, pick up your favourite mug and enjoy!
Ideally for this recipe, I wanted the brew to finish in just under 3:00 minutes to really bring out the acidity and juiciness of the blackberry and grapefruit.
If your brew takes longer than 3:00 minutes, look to coarsen your grind. If it completes in under 2:50 minutes look to tighten your grinder slightly to make the coffee finer.
My final thoughts…
The end result for me was a light brew with a beautiful acidity as soon as it hits your tongue, accentuating the notes of grapefruit and blackberry. The aftertaste is where it really shines as you are greeted by that oh-so-familiar flavour of cola that leaves you hurrying back for that second sip!
DOMESTIC ESPRESSO RECIPE
On the Slayer LP we use 21.5g of coffee and aim for a yield of 38g, however your machine and set up will determine what dose (and therefore, yield) you should aim for. Some domestic machines have 20-22g baskets, however some will only be able to hold 16-18g. Use the ratio to adjust the espresso recipe.
Padre Coffee acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continued connections to land, sea and community.
We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
