Every day here at Joyride HQ, we sample and rate multiple coffees. As a relatively inexperienced coffee drinker, I like to think I provide a supplementary viewpoint to that of the many coffee aficionados here at Joyride - the perspective of the average American if you will. A lot like Joe the plumber, from the 2008 presidential election. So here's my assessment of a recent coffee sample:

Elevation: 1,800 meters above sea level

Process: Washed

Varietal: SL-28, SL-34

Blue Bottle's first Kenyan single origin of the year comes from the Embu region where it is grown, harvested and processed by the 1,050 members of the Kibugu Co-operative Society. The town of Embu is located on the southeastern slopes of Mount Kenya. This high altitude contributes to the big and bold flavors characteristic of Kenyan coffees. This Embu Girikima is no exception. Blue Bottle advertises that this single origin contains notes of blackberry, marshmallow, citrus, cinnamon bun and apricot. Tea and coffee are the community’s main cash crops though many Kenyan athletes also leverage the altitude for endurance training. But I digress, onto the review.

Assessment: Medium body, stone fruit on the nose, berry sweetness in the mouth with nice citrus acidity and a clean finish. As post-plumber presidential candidate Mitt Romney once said: “Lemon. Wet. Good.” Couldn’t have put it better myself. 4 airpots out of 5.

-Blog post written by Jake Hanson, bookkeeper