Introduction to Kenya's Chania Estate - Kenya Coffee Overview

Kenyan Coffee Heritage

Kenyan coffee originated in 1892, when French missionaries brought Bourbon coffee varieties to Kenya for cultivation. After several improvements and cultivation periods, the SL28 and SL34 varieties have become the most prominent varieties today. The missionary Bourbon is considered native coffee, and is thus called the French Mission Varietal. During the cultivation process, scientific improvement methods were avoided, preserving the most original flavor of Bourbon.

Chania Estate Excellence

The Harris family of Chania Estate has been cultivating coffee in the Thika region for over 100 years. They have developed a deep understanding of the unique red volcanic soil in this area. Combined with suitable coffee-growing temperatures and rainfall, these excellent cultivation conditions create the distinctive flavor of Chania Estate's French Mission coffee.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests the following brewing parameters:

Pour-over: V60 dripper, grind with a small Fuji R440 at setting 3.5, water temperature around 90°C

French press: recommended grind setting 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: recommended grind setting 4, water temperature 90°C~91°C

AeroPress: recommended grind setting 3.5, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For a French press, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a coarse grind and medium-to-dark roasts that let the immersion brewing pull out sweetness and caramel notes. Two beans that work especially well are the Strawberry Candy, a Geisha blend of Costa Rican honey-processed coffee and Panamanian washed Geisha that shows rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry, and the PWN Golden Mandheling, a medium-dark Indonesian bean with spice, caramel, cedar, and dark chocolate and a thick, oily body.