Special Report: Sun-Dried Kenya | Exceptional Value from the Rare Chania Estate Sun-Dried French Mission Bourbon

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【Kenya Chania Estate French Mission Bourbon Natural】

Country: Kenya

Region: Thika

Processing Station: Chania Estates

Altitude: 1,525 meters

Variety: French Mission Bourbon

Processing Method: Natural Process

01 | Origin Introduction

Each county in Kenya has very different coffee characteristics. Kenya is divided into 47 counties nationwide. Different counties have distinct coffee characteristics. Kenyan coffee trees are mostly grown at altitudes between 1,400-2,000 meters, with two harvests per year. Growing regions include Ruiri, Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga, mainly on the foothills of Mt. Kenya and Aberdare. For example, Embu region coffee features balance, citrus fruits, chocolate, apple acidity. Nyeri region coffee features white grapes, juicy, grapefruit and small tomato flavors, full of fruitiness, sweet like caramel.

Different counties have distinct coffee characteristics. Kenyan coffee trees are mostly grown at altitudes between 1,400-2,000 meters, with two harvests per year. Growing regions include Ruiri, Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga, mainly on the foothills of Mt. Kenya and Aberdare. For example, Thika Kenya highland region coffee features balance, citrus fruits, chocolate, apple, and plum acidity. Nyeri region coffee features white grapes, juicy, grapefruit and small tomato flavors, full of fruitiness, sweet like caramel.

Thika, Kenya

Kenya is located in the Kiambu coffee growing area of the central highlands east of the Great Rift Valley, with Thika being a secondary region. Located at the foot of the Aberdare mountain range, the soil is red volcanic soil, rich in organic matter. Due to the mild climate and moderate rainfall in the Kiambu region, coffee farmers can have two harvests per year—from May to July, and from September to December.

KIAMBU (Kiambu)

KIAMBU: This region in central Kenya has the highest altitude coffee growing areas in the region.

The Kiambu region has some large coffee estates. Small farmers and their cooperative organizations work closely together, and most have their own processing plants, providing growers with better options than unified purchasing and selling. Farmers process green coffee beans in their own factories and obtain reasonable prices at auctions.

However, some coffee trees at high altitudes may suffer from dieback disease, which stops their growth. This region is named after Nakuru town. Coffee cultivation here includes both estates and small farmers, though production is relatively small.

Altitude: 1850~2200 meters

Harvest Period: October~December (main season), June~August (secondary season)

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11, Batian

02 | Estate Introduction

Chania and Oreti estates are the only large and medium-sized private coffee plantations in Kenya, managed by the Harries family since 1904. Chania Estate and Oreti Estate border the Chania River, with dams, reservoirs, and nearly 200 acres of land. The riverbanks are planted with forests to protect birds and wildlife.

Estate owner Boyce Marquis Allen Harries took over the family business of Estates and A.I.R. (Harries & Son Ltd.) in 2013. Today, 40 employees work for Boyce, many of whom have served the Harries family for three generations. Employees have their own elected committee and meet monthly to discuss community safety, social, and health issues. In addition to caring for their own workers, the Harries family also donated land to the Thika City Council and co-founded Wabeni Technical College, which teaches practical skills such as tailoring, mechanics, and woodworking to help local residents make a living.

The Harries Story: This Estate Has Over 100 Years of History

Chania and Oreti estates are the only large and medium-sized private coffee plantations in Kenya.

In 1904, Allen Charles Harries arrived in South Africa and came to Kenya. After comprehensive exploration throughout the country, Allen Charles established the Karamaini estate in what later became the Thika area. It took him two days to cover the 30-mile journey from Nairobi by donkey cart and porters.

His third son, Aldred Ewan Rule Harries, remained in South Africa and helped support his father financially, eventually joining his coffee business in 1912.

In 1926, Ewan moved to Chania village. This was a mixed farm on the Chania River with a small area of coffee.

Here Ewan set about discovering what could be successfully cultivated, trying to raise cattle, sisal, and pineapples while slowly increasing the total area of coffee. He also bought adjacent small farms to create the estate. In the early 1950s, based on his name initials, he named his enterprise A.I. Harries & Son Ltd. In 1946, Ewan's son Peter Allen Harries completed his studies in New Zealand.

He and his wife Ina (a New Zealander) joined his father in buying land more than 5 miles from Chania down the ridge of the Aberdare Mountains. They named it Oreti and established a mixed farm of pineapples, coffee, and macadamia nuts.

Peter inherited the running of both farms in the late 1950s when his father passed away. The farm had pineapples, livestock, and macadamia nuts, but coffee became the focus of the agricultural operation. When Peter suddenly passed away in 1983, his eldest and only surviving son David Hugh Allen Harries (b.1947) took up the responsibility to continue the family tradition.

David's nephew Boyce Marquis Allen Harries (born 1976) came to join him in 2004, living in Peter's old home at Oreti. Following David's retirement in 2013, Boyce took over the running of both estates and the family business A.I. Harries & Son Ltd.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

French missionaries brought Bourbon trees to Kenya around 1892-1893. This original Bourbon variety is called French Mission Varietal. During cultivation, it avoided scientific modifications, preserving the most original flavor of Bourbon. The unique red volcanic soil of Chania Estate, combined with suitable coffee growing temperatures and rainfall, plus an excellent natural environment, creates the unique flavor of French Mission varieties from Thika's Chania Estate.

Bourbon Variety

Let me briefly explain what Bourbon coffee is. Bourbon coffee was initially cultivated on Réunion Island, which was also called Bourbon Island before 1789. Bourbon is a sub-variety that mutated from Typica, and together with Typica, it belongs to the oldest existing coffee varieties. When green fruits ripen, they turn bright red.

The Spread of Bourbon Variety

Due to the low yield and disease susceptibility of Typica introduced to Brazil in 1727, Bourbon was introduced to Brazil around 1860 through Campinas in the south and quickly expanded north to other regions of South and Central America. Today in Latin America, although most Bourbon has been replaced by its variants (especially Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo), it is still cultivated in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

In Africa, French missionaries known as Spiritans (from the Holy Ghost congregation) played an important role in spreading the Bourbon variety. In 1841, the first mission was established in Réunion, and a branch was established in Zanzibar in 1859. From Zanzibar, branches were established in 1862 in Bagamoyo (Tanzanian coast, then called Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya), and another branch was established in 1893 in Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya). The establishment of each branch was accompanied by the planting of coffee seeds brought from Réunion.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated in Bura were taken to another French mission in Santa Cruz (near Nairobi), and in 1900 they were introduced to the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, with seeds distributed to local residents willing to grow coffee. This is the origin of what is called "Missionary Bourbon." Then the Kent variety was also introduced in 1920. Therefore, to this day, coffee in Tanzania is also mainly Bourbon and Kent.

04 | Processing Method Introduction

Natural processed Kenya is relatively uncommon in the market, possibly because the quality of Kenyan washed processing is excellent, coupled with the high loss rate and labor costs of natural processing. Natural processed Kenya is generally only found in special custom programs of some green bean merchants. This bean is processed using the natural method. During the refined natural process, the already rich and varied acidity of Bourbon coffee is enhanced with body and sweetness. This natural batch is limited in quantity and is a coffee that completely depends on natural climate conditions.

05 | Roasting Analysis

The bean density is medium. Roast with medium heat and climb. During the roasting process, the beans heat up quickly, so we need to reduce the heat at 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C to extend the Maillard reaction time while avoiding the beans heating up too rapidly. First crack starts around 8 minutes 15 seconds at 186°C. At the same time, reduce heat and open the damper to develop flavors. Drop the beans at 194°C after 2 minutes.

Yang Jia 600g Semi-direct Flame Roaster (300g batch size)

Preheat the roaster to 170°C, set damper to 3, turn on heat after 30 seconds, adjust heat to 140, keep damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'28", maintain heat. At 140°C, reduce heat to 110, open damper to 4. Turn yellow at 4'20", grassy smell disappears, enter dehydration phase, reduce heat to 90, keep damper at 4. At 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C, reduce heat again to 90, 70, and 50 respectively.

At 7'50, dehydration is complete, wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell turns to coffee aroma, which is the prelude to first crack. Pay attention to listen for the sound of first crack. At 8'13", first crack begins, open damper to full 5, and adjust heat to 30. Post-first crack development time is 2 minutes, drop at 194°C.

Cupping Results

This coffee has good flavor but a relatively high defect rate. Please sort carefully before and after roasting. The dry aroma has natural fermentation, dried fruit, and vanilla notes. When slurping, you can taste caramel, vanilla, mixed fruits, with a solid juicy sensation. The aftertaste has berries, rich jackfruit, and coffee flower notes. The overall performance shows the wild regional characteristics of Africa, suitable for small sips and slow tasting. The complex aroma is hard to let go of~

06 | Brewing Data

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Grind Size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 90~91°C

V60 dripper, 15g coffee, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30g water for bloom, bloom time is 30s

When the water level drops, the water flow follows the spiral ribs, concentrating the water flow. This action is like wringing a towel, squeezing the coffee particles in the water at once. To maximize this squeezing function, the water level should not exceed the height of the coffee bed during water pouring.

The second pour also starts from the center, injecting a small stream of water to the bottom of the coffee bed. To concentrate the penetrating power of the water stream, the circular movement range should be small, about the size of a one-dollar coin, and then circle outward. From the second pour, pay attention to the water amount, trying not to exceed the height of the coffee bed. That is, when the water stream approaches close to the filter paper, you can stop pouring.

Segmented Brewing:

Pour water to 120ml, stop water, slowly pour to 225ml. That is, 30-120-75. Total extraction time is about 2 minutes.

Other Drip Brewing Recommendations:

French Press: recommended grind 3.5-4, water temperature 90°C

AeroPress: recommended grind 2.5, water temperature 90°C

Pour-over: grind 3.5, water temperature 91°C

French Press Method:

1. Weigh 20g beans, grind to coarse sugar size, coffee-to-water ratio is 1:15.

2. Preheat the French press with hot water, then pour it out; pour the coffee grounds into the French press.

3. Pour 89°C hot water in and start timing. After pouring water, stir gently to ensure all coffee grounds are wet.

4. After four minutes, slowly press the plunger down and pour it out.

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Natural French Mission Bourbon Thika Chania Estate Fresh Specialty Beans

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