Kenya Coffee Origin: Introduction to Thika Region Coffee Cultivation, History, and Flavor Characteristics

Kenya

Around 1900, the British introduced coffee to Kenya. Over the past century, Kenya has become one of the world's foremost premium coffee producing regions.

Located adjacent to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, Kenya's flavor profile possesses an extremely unique spectrum. Even for first-time coffee drinkers, the distinct sweet and sour characteristics, along with the rich and mellow mouthfeel, are unmistakable.

High-quality Kenyan coffee beans are typically grown at altitudes between 1,300 and 2,100 meters, situated just south of the equator, primarily on the slopes of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range. The main growing regions include:

• Ruiri
• Thika
• Kirinyaga
• Mount Kenya West
• Nyeri
• Kiambu
• Muranga

In 1930, Kenya's unique varieties SL28 and SL34 were developed by Scott Laboratories (SL). SL28 is a hybrid of Bourbon, Mocha, and Yemeni Typica, offering exceptional flavor with sweetness, balance, and complexity, featuring prominent citrus and dark plum characteristics.

SL34 shares similar flavor profiles with SL28, offering complex and varied acidity with a sweet aftertaste. Its mouthfeel is richer and cleaner than SL28.

The vast majority of coffee beans are uniformly graded and tested by the Kenya Coffee Board before being sold at auction. The grades are primarily divided into AA+, AA, and AB levels, classified by the uniformity of bean size.

No country in the world places as much emphasis on producing high-quality coffee as Kenya does, making Kenya the best model among coffee-producing nations. All Kenyan coffee must be submitted to the government-established Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) for unified purchase and cupping grading after harvest. Every Tuesday, official public auctions are held at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange in the capital.

Due to this government-coordinated public auction system, more than 570,000 small-scale coffee farmers across Kenya are encouraged—good quality easily commands good prices. In fact, the Kenyan government provides numerous additional support measures, offering technical guidance to countless small coffee farmers on growing premium coffee, assisting nearly 300 agricultural marketing cooperatives (similar to Taiwan's agricultural production and marketing groups) in better green bean processing. The Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) invests effort and educational guidance in coffee industry production, quality research, sales, and even financial counseling. This has created the unparalleled charm of Kenyan coffee quality and flavor, deeply loved by coffee buyers from around the world. Kenyan coffee is also extremely popular in the Chinese coffee market.

Located in East Africa, Kenya is one of the major coffee-producing countries, with approximately six million people nationwide engaged in the coffee industry, mostly in the form of small farmers and cooperatives. Kenyan coffee trees are mostly grown at altitudes of 1,400-2,000 meters, with growing regions including Ruiri, Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga, primarily in the mountain ranges of Mt. Kenya and Aberdare.

In 1930, Kenya's unique varieties SL28 and SL34, cultivated and named by "Scott Laboratories," were born in this excellent research environment. According to SL laboratory botanists, SL28 and SL34 are genetic variants. Among them, SL28 possesses mixed lineage from French Mission, Mocha, and Yemeni Typica.

The original goal in developing SL28 was to mass-produce coffee beans that combined high quality with resistance to pests and diseases.

Although SL28's later yields were not as large as expected, its copper-colored leaves and broad bean shape offer wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex, varied flavors with prominent citrus and dark plum characteristics. Meanwhile, SL34 shares similar flavor profiles with SL28—besides complex and varied acidity and a wonderful sweet finish—it has a heavier, richer mouthfeel than SL28 and is cleaner. SL34 possesses French Mission, Bourbon, and more Typica lineage.

Similar in appearance to SL28, it better adapts to sudden heavy rains. It is these two important varieties that lead us to understand the unique Kenyan style: strong, rich fruit acidity, intense mouthfeel, and beautiful balance.

Green bean processing is primarily washed, with grading based on bean size and cupping to determine actual value. The highest grade coffee beans are AA grade (large beans retained on 7.2mm screens), A grade (second-largest beans retained on 6.8mm screens), B grade (medium beans retained on 6.2mm screens), C grade (all small beans smaller than B grade), PB grade (oval-shaped beans), as well as overly light and small TT and T grade beans. A and B grade beans are mixed together for export, called AB grade. Kenyan authorities (CBK) have very high requirements for coffee beans, using consistent packaging. Combined with good quality and excellent texture, coffee lovers never forget to enjoy a cup of Kenyan coffee.

KIAMBU

This central region area is mostly composed of large landowners. However, with urban expansion, many large landowners have found that selling their land for urban development is more profitable than being landlords. Coffee beans from this region are named after their production areas, such as Thika, Ruiru, Limuru, etc. Many large landowners also operate multinational enterprises, so their agriculture focuses on higher returns rather than higher quality. However, this region still has a minority of small farmers.

Altitude: 1,500-2,200m

Harvest: First harvest: October-December, Second harvest: June-August

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Batian

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, also providing online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473