INTRODUCING: THE SMALL FIVE

Tano Ndogo translates in Swahili to “The Small Five,” referring to the five producers with small plots of land who process their coffee together. In a country and region predominantly controlled by the large cooperative system, these five farmers have a unique micro cooperative set up. Three of the members are brothers and the other two are friends all located in close proximity to one another. Their work gives an opportunity to see a unique and specific expression of single variety coffee from a very specific area of land.

The coffee is grown just a couple hours north of the capitol city Nairobi in the mountainous, rich, red soil in Gitwe, Kiambu. The coffee is comprised mainly of the coveted, complex, and juicy SL-28 variety at high elevations that reach up to 1850 meters above sea level. This is our first year purchasing coffee from The Small Five. In the cup we found this to be a beautiful coffee layered in grapefruit, lavender, and fresh berries—the notes could go on and on. This is a refined, bright, and sunny cup of coffee that lights up the palate and the soul.