Gloria Ruby Washed

€13.00 – €46.80

Kenya – Washed SL28. Floral aromas like jasmine. Juicy sweetness like blackcurrant. Soft body like black tea.

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Gloria Ruby Washed

This is our start of direct trade in Kenya, replacing a corrupt auction system with sustainable relationships.

Region: Nabiswa, Kenya
Altitude: 1,800 m.a.s.l.
Variety: SL28, Ruiru 11
Processing: Extra ripe cherry selection, fully washed, 3 x 24hr fermentation, dried on raised beds

Read more about our partnership
Additional information
Weight N/A
Region

Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
Altitude

2,400 m.a.s.l.
Variety

74/158, 74/110 and Setami
Processing

72hr fermentation, dried on raised beds
Flavour

Floral aromas like jasmin and passion fruit. Juicy sweetness like peach. Silky body like caramel and earl grey tea.

Jelle's Notes

For a long time it was nearly impossible to trade directly with Kenya. When This Side Up told me the market had finally opened, I jumped in right away. Kenya is such an interesting origin, and I wanted to work with it in a more personal way. That was about four years ago, and since then I’ve been collaborating with Gloria directly and through This Side Up.

Most Kenyan coffees come through large washing stations, which makes it hard to give feedback or build something together. Gloria stood out because she was open to experimenting, improving quality, and working closely with others in her village. She has become the central figure in her community, and it has been rewarding to compare lots, share feedback, and learn from each other.

Ruby Washed is a result of working directly with Gloria and experimenting. The cherries were picked at an extra ripe stage, hence the name ruby red, and underwent extended fermentation, resulting in a distinct flavor profile. It was clearly a step up from earlier lots, and that gave us both a reason to keep going.

Gloria’s coffee stands out with more body than you’d expect from a Kenyan profile. It is still fresh and floral, but with a cacao-like weight that makes it easier to use in espresso. Classic Kenyans can work beautiful as espresso, but they are often brighter and more acidic, which requires a careful hand. Gloria’s lots are more forgiving, with a fuller body and a softer finish.

Producer

Even though Kenyan specialty coffee is praised worldwide for its sweetness and complexity, its coffee industry is far from praiseworthy. Almost all coffee is traded through a central auction system that is corrupt and prevents transparency in the chain. This discourages young people from continuing the coffee trade and they start seeking employment in the cities. Our importing partner This Side Up worked together with Stean’s Beans, who recently got their own export license in Kenya. Together, they have started importing Kenyan coffees directly and establishing our sustainability practices in this origin as well.

The value chain

The infographic below shows what the monetary value chain with this producer roughly looks like. This changes slightly per year based on volume and quality but is usually reliable over the years.

Key achievements

2021 First independent export.

The microlots

The story

Sakami Coffee is one of the most environmentally sustainable coffee farms in Kenya, founded in 2004 by Gloria and Jarmo Gummerus. It has a wet mill that is fully powered by solar panels. They grow a couple of different varieties (SL28, Batian, Ruiru11 and K7) according to permaculture principles that keeps the land and the other flora healthy. They consciously process waste products like cascara and residual water from the washing into organic compost. This way, they also try to inspire other farmers in the vicinity to produce more sustainable coffee, both environmentally and financially.

Pricing

Price Breakdown

For us, sourcing coffee isn’t just about finding the right flavour, but more about finding the right people. We want to work with importers who are interested in building lasting relationships with the farmers and stay involved beyond the harvest. For this coffee, we’ve partnered with This Side Up. They represent producers directly, support long-term systems, and make sure pricing reflects the real work behind each lot. Their model is built on transparency, shared ownership, and a refusal to let commodity pricing define value. We pay more, but we know where it goes. That’s how we prefer to source our coffee.

Discount given by Roaster
€11.37
To keep the Gloria lots at last year’s price, Shokunin reduced the calculated purchase cost and gave up part of the margin.
Price paid by Roaster
€11.66
Agreed directly with Gloria and Jarmo, bypassing the volatile US Coffee C price.

How is this built up?

Growing and Processing
€8.10
Reflects the FOT contract Sakami farmers received, including freight to the milling facility. Covers all costs up to the dry parchment stage under Kenya’s 2024 regulations.
Local
€0.56
Coffee is taken to the milling facility where farmers are charged for the milling, bagging them in GrainPro.  An export supervision fee is included, to show the cooperation by partner Stean with the farmers to oversee the milling process. This standard fee is split across the entire volume and added to the exporting costs.
Shipping
€0.59
Covers international freight costs from Mombasa, Kenya to Rotterdam, including customs, insurance, and warehousing.
Financing
€0.70
This average financing cost is owed to (mostly) social lenders who ensure farmers are paid immediately when the coffee leaves the farm or port.
Regenerative Premium
€0.06
A standard premium by This Side Up on all coffees that is exclusively dedicated to accelerating regenerative agriculture projects led by farmers.
Importer Fee
€1.65
Compensation to This Side Up for the resources spent on importing the coffee, including: year-round contact with producers, managing export, shipping, import, warehousing, grading, sampling, finding and keeping roasting partners for Sakami. This is part of TSU’s Model 1 Mark up. 
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