{"product_id":"ninth-ngacha-act2025-auction-lot-anaerobic-washed-sl28-sl34","title":"+Ninth - Ngacha ACT2025 Auction Lot Anaerobic Washed SL28\/ SL34","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBio: \u003c\/strong\u003eHalp posted on Bana about a coffee that they released from Eswatini, a small country in Africa that I personally had no idea produced coffee. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn addition to this really unique coffee, they have some pretty interesting coffees, including an auction lot from Kenya, a processed Adaura lot, some cleaner Ethiopian and Colombian lots, and a few higher processed Colombian lots. All in all, there is a lot of interesting green from this release. Most of it is more limited than a majority of our releases. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoast Profile: \u003c\/strong\u003eTheir roasting is somewhere in the ‘Japanese light roast' end of things, which I find fairly comparable to Botz. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTasting Notes: \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"\u003eCassis, Ripe Green Apple, Apricot, Black Tea\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy did we bring this coffee on?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"\u003eThis is a very unique coffee from an Auction I haven't seen elsewhere. This was an auction from a single estate in Kenya. I believe there were only a handful of lots available from it. This lot is, unfortunately, rather limited. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI found a short story that the farmer wrote about his coffee background for this auction and will share it below:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Story by Martin Mwangi Muruiki\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1954, my father bought this land.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFour years later, in 1958, he planted nine coffee bushes. Not ten. Not twelve. Nine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the time, colonial regulations restricted African farmers from growing coffee freely. My father planted four additional bushes in quiet defiance. For that decision, he was arrested and spent ten days in a police cell. When he was released, he was forced to uproot the extra trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly nine were allowed to remain. To him, those nine bushes were the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe understood what rested in his hands — black gold. Pride under oppression. Promise under surveillance. Those bushes represented livelihood, dignity, and a silent refusal to surrender possibility. After independence, he expanded the farm, but Ngacha Coffee Estate was born from those nine trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe would often remind me:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“This is my legacy. Do not compromise it. Take up the mantle and shine brighter.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe never lived to see Ngacha coffee score above 88 points, but he planted something greater than coffee itself. He planted defiance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInheritance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI inherited the farm in 2019.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI did not grow up among coffee trees. My upbringing was urban, shaped more by my father’s stories than by coffee bushes rows. He told me how he became the first in the locality to build a house with corrugated iron sheets, and later the first to construct a two-story stone home. Through those stories, he taught me what building truly meant — patience, courage, and belief in tomorrow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen he passed away after battling cancer, the stories became responsibility.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe farm was no longer history. It was mine to protect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of our first decisions was immediate: we banned herbicides. We eliminated fungicides and pesticides with reckless residue histories. If we were to produce something consumed around the world, it could not harm the soil that carries my father’s memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll biopesticides are managed and applied following recognized biosecurity protocols, supporting safe use like pre-harvest intervals, environmental stewardship, and compliance with sustainability standards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor us, stewardship is personal before it is agricultural.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHolding On\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first year was difficult.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe wanted to retain the entire workforce — nearly 90% of whom are women from the surrounding community — but liquidity disappeared quickly. The thought of scaling down weighed heavily on us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen came 2020 and the uncertainty of COVID-19.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy wife Bessie and I sold a personal asset to keep the farm alive. We chose continuity over comfort because this community had stood with my father since 1958. Walking away was never an option.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the time, we did not know who would buy our coffee. We did not know whether anyone would.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking back, it became the most important decision we ever made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe preserved not only a farm, but hope during a moment when the world felt uncertain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Awakening\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn August 2020, I attended my first serious cupping session with coffee researcher Kinuthia Chuaga from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the results appeared, I stopped mid-breath. His eyes lit up before he spoke. The coffee spoke first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn that moment, I realized:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Hold on. We are on to something.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2022, Ngacha scored above 88 points for the first time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI shed a tear — not because of the score, but because I knew the journey that began with nine restricted bushes had finally reached the global table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe question was no longer whether the coffee was good.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe question became: who would find us?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJabali The Coffee Company did. The partnership felt inevitable — like a hand fitting perfectly into a glove.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ngacha Ecosystem\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNgacha Coffee Estate sits between 1,626 and 1,678 meters above sea level on steep red volcanic soils in Kenya’s central highlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMorning sunlight arrives directly and decisively. Evenings cool rapidly, creating a natural temperature drop that preserves acidity and stabilizes drying rhythms. Annual rainfall ranges between 953 and 1,200 millimeters, supporting slow cherry maturation and concentrated flavor development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeven acres are currently under coffee production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree additional acres are being established within a forested section we call Mugumo Forest Coffee, named after a 150-year-old sacred fig tree standing at its center. Among the Kikuyu people, the Mugumo tree is never cut. It is a place to gather, to reflect, and to listen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat tree represents our future — growth rooted in respect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur Coffee\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNgacha grows primarily SL28 and SL34 varieties, alongside a small portion of Ruiru 11.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnnual production currently averages three tons, projected to reach seven tons as new plantings mature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut our goal has never been volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur goal is precision without compromise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery cherry is selectively harvested. Every season is approached as learning. Every cup is treated as a continuation of a story that began long before me.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat Ngacha Means\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNgacha Coffee Estate is more than a farm I inherited.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a conversation between generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom nine bushes planted under restriction to coffees now welcomed across the world, this journey has been shaped by resilience, community, and belief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy father planted under limitation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy responsibility is to grow without compromise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery harvest carries his words forward:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Take up the mantle and shine brighter.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd every cup of Ngacha coffee is part of that legacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMartin Ngacha\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Airworks Coffee","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53513758376225,"sku":null,"price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0858\/4092\/0865\/files\/IMG_8777.jpg?v=1788321430","url":"https:\/\/airworkscoffee.com\/products\/ninth-ngacha-act2025-auction-lot-anaerobic-washed-sl28-sl34","provider":"Airworks Coffee","version":"1.0","type":"link"}