How to Brew Kenyan Coffee: Correct Steps and Methods for Brewing Kenyan Coffee Beans

When it comes to African coffee, Ethiopia often comes to mind first, with its enchanting acidity and aroma renowned worldwide. However, there's another highly representative option: Kenyan coffee. Ethiopian coffee flavors tend to be lighter with brighter mouthfeel, prominent floral notes and fruit acidity. In contrast, Kenyan coffee offers more intense acidity than Ethiopian coffee, also featuring floral notes, but with a richer acidity profile—for example, Ethiopia's lemon acidity versus Kenya's concentrated cherry tomato flavor. Ethiopian beans have always been the most popular at FrontStreet Coffee, especially the washed Yirgacheffe coffee, though some also adore the rich cherry tomato intensity of Kenyan coffee.

Kenyan Coffee Growing Environment

When people first try Kenyan coffee, they might be startled—what kind of coffee is this? Why is it so acidic? Fruit lovers won't find it hard to guess the cherry tomato flavor, while others might detect tomato juice notes. FrontStreet Coffee believes all these descriptions are valid, as everyone's palate is different. Naturally, coffee bean flavors are inseparable from their growing environment. Each coffee-producing region offers distinct flavors, not to mention different coffee-producing countries.

Kenya is located in eastern Africa, with the equator crossing through its center and the East African Rift Valley running north-south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Ethiopia and South Sudan to the north, with the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Besides the coastal plains, most of Kenya consists of highlands averaging 1,500 meters in elevation. The capital Nairobi enjoys a temperate climate with an average annual temperature of 17.7°C and annual rainfall of 1,049mm. Due to lower mountain temperatures, coffee grows more slowly, allowing aromatic compounds to fully develop, resulting in more pronounced fruit acidity and harder bean texture. This fertile, crescent-shaped coffee zone is Kenya's primary specialty bean production area. Coffee harvests are divided into two rainy seasons: 60% concentrated from October to December, and the remaining 40% from June to August, with dry seasons in between. Annual rainfall decreases from 1,500mm in the southwest to 200mm in the northeast.

Kenyan Coffee Main Growing Regions

Kenyan coffee is primarily grown in volcanic areas at elevations of 1,600-2,100 meters around the capital Nairobi to the Kenyan highlands. Kenya's coffee-producing regions consist of six main areas: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga. The Kenyan coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's menu come from the Thika region.

The growing altitude in the Thika region ranges between 1,550 to 1,750 meters. Thika is a small town located near Kenya's capital Nairobi. There are many coffee fields around Nairobi, and while Thika is an industrial town, it's surrounded by agriculture and waterfalls. The Thika region has approximately 2,000 farmers. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee determined that this region's coffee features bright fruit acidity, rich berry juice notes, and honey-like sweetness.

Kenyan Coffee Varieties

Kenyan coffee varieties are labeled differently from typical coffee varieties you might know: Typica, Geisha, Yellow Bourbon, Catuai, Pacas, etc. Instead, they are: SL28, SL34, Batian, and Ruiru 11. Among these, the most famous Kenyan coffee varieties are SL28 and SL34. The Kenya Assalia coffee launched by FrontStreet Coffee is made from SL28 and SL34 varieties.

SL stands for "Scott Laboratories," a coffee variety research institution established in Kenya. Between 1934 and 1963, Scott Laboratories developed multiple varieties. The laboratory created various SL varieties, primarily based on Mocha and Bourbon varieties grown in Kenya. The researchers selected 42 varieties from different origins, studying their yield, quality, drought resistance, and disease resistance. After逐一编号筛选, they最终得到SL-28和SL-34. SL28 and SL34 were first developed in the 1930s when the Kenyan government commissioned the newly established Scott Labs to select suitable varieties for the country. After screening 42 initial varieties, they finally selected SL-28 and SL-34. The former originates from Bourbon, while SL-34 comes from Typica—these two are not from the same variety series.

SL28: Bred from Tanganyika D.R. in 1931, SL 28 has spread throughout Kenya, with its cupping scores demonstrating excellent flavor. SL coffee trees have broad leaves with copper-colored tips. The beans are short and round with solid bodies, featuring uplifting acidity and pronounced sweetness. Some sources claim that Scott Laboratories created the SL 28 variety by crossbreeding French missionary Bourbon, Mocha, and Yemeni Typica varieties. SL28 offers excellent flavor and good drought resistance, tolerating drought, pests, and diseases, making it suitable for cultivation at medium to high altitudes, though it's susceptible to common diseases.

SL34: SL34 is a mutation of the French missionary Bourbon, originating from the Loresho plantation in Kabete. SL 34 coffee trees have broad leaves with dark brown tips. SL34 is suitable for cultivation in high-altitude areas with good rainfall, though it's also susceptible to various common coffee diseases.

SL28 and SL34 have similar flavors, but SL34 offers richer acidity and a more intense mouthfeel. However, both varieties possess the distinctive Kenyan character with abundant fruit acidity and balanced mouthfeel.

Kenyan Coffee Beans 72-Hour Washed Processing Method

Different coffee processing methods result in significantly different flavors. For example, Indonesia's wet-hulled method and Honduras's whiskey barrel processing, among others. Kenyan coffee is particularly famous for its distinctive washed processing method. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, unlike neighboring Ethiopia's washed processing method, Kenya's approach uses a repeated cycling method of washing after fermentation.

After harvesting high-quality ripe coffee cherries, they are immediately pulped and fermented in fermentation tanks for 24 hours. After the first 24-hour period, they are immediately washed with large amounts of clean river water. Then, they undergo another 24-hour fermentation in clean river water. After the second 24-hour period, the previous step is repeated, completing a 72-hour process. Because the entire washing process takes 72 hours, it's called the Kenyan 72-hour fermentation washed processing method, or K72 for short. This processing method allows coffee beans to ferment for extended periods at low temperatures, resulting in brighter, cleaner, yet fuller flavors! FrontStreet Coffee's Kenyan coffee beans are processed using the K72 washed method.

How to Brew Kenyan Coffee Beans for Better Flavor?

Generally speaking, all coffee beans can be pour-over brewed, but pour-over isn't necessarily the best brewing method to showcase coffee flavors. For example, Brazilian coffee beans taste better as blends than as pour-over coffee. As FrontStreet Coffee just introduced, high-quality Kenyan coffee typically carries distinct acidity, elegant berry flavors, and uplifting acidity. Kenya is perfect for coffee enthusiasts who enjoy acidity in their coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends making Kenyan coffee into iced coffee, such as iced pour-over, ice drip coffee, or cold brew.

FrontStreet Coffee's Pour-over Kenyan Coffee Parameters:

The specific brewing parameters used by FrontStreet Coffee are: V60 dripper, water temperature 90°C, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds, medium-fine grind (80% passing through China #20 standard sieve).

FrontStreet Coffee employs a three-stage pouring technique: 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds, second stage circular pour to 125g, wait for the water level to drop until the coffee bed is about to be exposed, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Remove the dripper once all coffee liquid has flowed into the serving pot, with extraction time of 2 minutes.

Assalia Coffee Bean Flavor: Wet aroma reveals mature tomato and floral notes. The entrance brings cherry tomato and dark plum flavors, with bright acidity, clean and rich mouthfeel, prominent mid-palate sweetness with juice-like texture. The finish features berry fragrance and brown sugar sweetness, accompanied by green tea aroma.

How to Make Iced Pour-over Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee's iced pour-over brewing concept: extract low-ratio coffee liquid (high concentration) and dilute with ice cubes.

Coffee amount is 15g, water-to-coffee ratio is 1:10, water temperature 90°C, grind level medium-coarse (80% passing through 0.85mm sieve). After extracting the coffee liquid, pre-cool another serving pot with ice cubes, then remove the old ice and add 100g of fresh ice. Pre-cooling prevents ice from melting too quickly, which would over-dilute the coffee flavor.

Next, pour the extracted coffee liquid over the ice and shake to mix. Cover the serving pot—this both reduces aroma evaporation and allows pouring coffee liquid without ice bits. Because iced pour-over coffee uses low-ratio extraction diluted with ice, it starts concentrated and full-bodied, then gradually becomes smoother as the ice melts and dilutes, with flavors transitioning from complex to refreshing.

How to Make Ice Drip Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee's ice drip method uses 60g of coffee grounds to extract 600ml of coffee liquid. Coffee-to-water ratio is 1:10. Water drip rate is approximately 3 drops per 10 seconds, using ice-water mixture as the upper pot water source. Extraction time is about 8 hours. After extraction, store the coffee liquid in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator for 48 hours.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee's cold brew method uses 50g of coffee grounds, restoring coffee-to-water ratio to 1:10, therefore adding 400ml of cold water and 200g of hard ice (total ice-water mixture 600g, considering coffee grounds' water absorption rate is twice their weight). Stir well, seal, and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Then filter out coffee grounds with filter paper and store the coffee liquid in a clean sealed bottle in the refrigerator for 32 hours.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations:

Regardless of which coffee you're brewing, freshness of coffee beans is essential. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that coffee bean freshness greatly affects coffee flavor, which is why FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring every customer receives the freshest coffee upon delivery. The coffee degassing period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their order, the coffee is at its peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee offers a gentle reminder: once coffee beans are pre-ground, no further degassing is needed, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging helps round out the coffee flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, as it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air—meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate faster, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's full flavor.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473