Is Kenya AA Coffee Good? Kenya Coffee Bean Grade Classification and Flavor Characteristics

Kenya AA Grade Coffee: A Rare Gem

Kenya AA grade coffee is one of the rare exceptional coffees, renowned worldwide for its rich aroma and balanced acidity, cherished by countless connoisseurs. It offers a perfect and balanced flavor with magnificent and intense characteristics that are both refreshing and assertive, creating a complete yet not heavy taste experience. The flavor of Kenya AA coffee is refreshing without being overwhelming, truly delivering a complete yet light mouthfeel. For lovers of acidic coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas always recommend Kenya AA coffee first, allowing one to taste the rich fruit flavors of cherry tomatoes, black plums, and berries.

Geographical Advantages

The vast majority of Kenya's coffee trees are concentrated in the region from the capital Nairobi to the Kenyan highlands, surrounded by volcanic terrain at elevations of approximately 1600-2100 meters. This altitude is ideal for coffee beans to develop their flavors, as the mountainous regions have lower temperatures and slower growth, combined with acidic cultivation soil with pH values between 5.3 and 6.0, allowing the aromatic components of coffee beans to fully develop, resulting in more prominent fruit acidity and harder texture. This crescent-shaped fertile coffee zone is the main production area for Kenya's specialty beans, comprising the Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang'a, and Thika regions.

Harvesting Practices

Kenya's coffee trees can flower twice a year. Most coffee trees flower in March and April after the long rainy season, and in most coffee-producing regions, the harvest season lasts from October each year until the end of the year. Some coffee trees also flower in October or November and are harvested in July of the following year. Kenya coffee has always been hand-picked, with farmers harvesting only red, ripe coffee cherries, requiring re-picking rounds approximately every ten days per tree. The purpose of harvesting fully red cherries is to ensure more complete nutritional development of the coffee beans and fuller flavor expression.

Premium Varieties: SL28 and SL34

Friends who have purchased FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya AA coffee beans should have noticed that the coffee variety section on the packaging label reads SL28 and SL34, which are also Kenya's two most popular coffee varieties. SL refers to Kenya's Scott Laboratories. In the 1930s, Kenya's coffee trees experienced a widespread outbreak of coffee berry disease, so Scott Laboratories was commissioned by the government to begin cultivating new disease-resistant varieties. Among the research results, varieties number 28 and 34 showed stronger disease resistance and outstanding flavors. Thus, farmers began widely planting these two varieties. The SL series belongs to the Bourbon family of coffee trees and exhibits excellent acidity in Kenyan growing regions. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has experienced that SL28 and SL34 present excellent sweetness, balance, and complex, varied flavors, as well as notable citrus and dark plum characteristics.

Grading System

Kenyan coffee producers believe that larger beans contain more aromatic oils, which can enhance the coffee's aroma while also being more conducive to even heating and flavor compound conversion during roasting. Therefore, Kenya's coffee bean grading adopts a standard that prioritizes large particle size. It can be roughly divided into AA, AB, C, E, PB, TT, T, ML, and MH, with AA and AB being most common domestically. It's worth mentioning that PB (Peaberry) is a grading for small round beans, typically produced from the ends of coffee trees that flowered too late or too early. Due to scarce production, accounting for only 10% of yield, when peaberries are specially collected, producers mostly remove defective beans, reducing the defect ratio and making particle size more consistent, resulting in more even roasting and improved mouthfeel. Therefore, peaberries from the same coffee tree are generally more expensive than other flat beans.

Kenyan Washed Processing Method

What gives Kenyan coffee its unique fruity charm, besides innate cultivation advantages and coffee varieties, is the Kenyan washed processing method, also known as the K72 washed processing method. The K72 washed processing method involves: harvesting coffee cherries, removing pulp for fermentation, fermenting for 24 hours, then cleaning with water. Soak and ferment for 24 hours, then wash with water again, repeating this process 3 times, thus achieving 72 hours of intensive fermentation. After such multiple fermentation and washing processes, the coffee beans present brighter, cleaner acidity.

Roasting and Brewing Recommendations

In terms of roasting and brewing philosophy, FrontStreet Coffee aims to preserve the classic flavor characteristics of Kenyan coffee as much as possible—that is, solid, rich acidity and full, complex floral and fruit aromas. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use light roasting. After roasting, FrontStreet Coffee conducted cupping and pour-over extraction respectively, finding that this coffee carries distinct flavors of snow pear, plum, cherry tomato, dark plum, and brown sugar. It's suitable for extraction using various methods. If tasting this Kenya AA for the first time, FrontStreet Coffee recommends hot pour-over.

Kenya Assalia Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee: Kenya Assalia Coffee Beans

Region: Kenya Thika

Processing Station: Asali Honey Processing Station

Altitude: 1550-1750 meters

Grade: AA TOP

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Processing Method: Kenya 72-hour washed

Brewing Recommendations

Due to the relatively tight internal structure of high-altitude, lightly roasted coffee beans, higher water temperature and finer grinding are needed to better stimulate aromatic compounds during extraction. Here, FrontStreet Coffee uses hot water at 92-93 degrees Celsius for extraction. For grinding fineness, FrontStreet Coffee uses a #20 standard sieve with 80% pass-through rate.

Filter: V60

Water Temperature: 92-93 degrees Celsius

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Fine sugar size EK43s - setting 10 (20# sieve bowl to 80%)

First pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (scale shows around 125g), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows around 225g), completing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Drip filtration completes at 2'10", remove the filter cup, and extraction is complete.

Professional Coffee Resources

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