How to Brew Kenyan Coffee with French Press - What Variety is Kenyan Coffee - Kenyan Coffee Price

Kenya Coffee Bean - Hania Estate - French Mission Bourbon - Natural Process

Country: Kenya

Region: Thika

Processing Station: Chania Estates

Altitude: 1,525 meters

Variety: French Mission Bourbon

Processing Method: Natural Process

01 | Kenya Coffee Bean Origin Introduction

Each county in Kenya produces very different coffee. Kenya is divided into 47 counties nationwide. Coffee from different counties has distinct 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, primarily on the foothills of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdare Range.

For example, Embu region coffee features balance, citrus fruits, chocolate, apples, and acidity. Nyeri region coffee offers white grapes, juiciness, grapefruit, and small tomato flavors, with abundant fruitiness and caramel-like sweetness.

Different counties produce distinctly characteristic coffees. Kenyan coffee trees are mostly grown at altitudes between 1,400-2,000 meters, with two harvests annually. Growing regions include Ruiri, Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga, primarily on the foothills of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdare Range. For example, Thika's Kenya Highland region coffee features balance, citrus fruits, chocolate, apples, and plum acidity. Nyeri region coffee offers white grapes, juiciness, grapefruit, and small tomato flavors, with abundant fruitiness and caramel-like sweetness.

Thika - Kiambu

Kiambu coffee growing area is located in the central highlands east of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with Thika as a sub-region. This area sits at the foot of the Aberdare mountain ridge, with red volcanic soil rich in organic matter. Because of the mild climate and moderate rainfall, coffee farmers in the Kiambu region can have two harvests annually: from May to July and from September to December.

KIAMBU (Kiambu)

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

The Kiambu region has some large coffee estates, and small farmers work closely with their cooperatives. Most have their own processing plants, providing growers with better options than unified coffee purchase and sale. Farmers process green coffee beans in their own factories and obtain reasonable prices at auctions.

Some high-altitude coffee trees, however, may suffer from dieback disease and cease growing. This production area is named after Nakuru town. Coffee cultivation here includes both estates and small farmers, though production is relatively small.

Altitude: 1,850-2,200 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 Kenya's only large and medium-sized private coffee plantations, 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. Forested riverbanks protect birds and wildlife.

Estate owner Boyce Marquis Allen Harries took over the estates and the A.I.R. family business (Harries & Son Ltd.) in 2013.

Today, 40 employees work for Boyce, many of whom have served three generations of the Harries family. Employees have their own elected committee that meets monthly to discuss community safety, social, and health issues. Besides caring for their workers, the Harries family donated land to the Thika City Council and co-founded Wabeni Technical College, which teaches practical skills such as garment making, mechanics, and woodworking, helping local residents earn 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 then came to Kenya. After comprehensive surveys throughout the country, Allen Charles established the Karamaini estate in the area that would later become Thika. It took him two days to travel 30 miles from Nairobi by ox-cart.

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

In 1926, Ivan moved to Chania village. This was a mixed farm on the Chania River with small coffee plantings.

Here, Ivan experimented with what could be successfully raised, trying hand-reared cattle, sisal, and pineapples while slowly increasing the total coffee area. 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.R. Harries & Son Ltd. In 1946, Ivan'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, descending the ridge from the Aberdare Mountains. They named it Oreti and established a mixed farm of pineapples, coffee, and macadamia nuts.

In the late 1950s, Peter inherited both farms' operations after his father's death. The farm had pineapples, livestock, and macadamia nuts, but coffee became the focus of agricultural operations. When Peter died suddenly in 1983, his eldest and only surviving son, David Hugh Allen Harries (b. 1947), took on the responsibility of continuing the family tradition.

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

03 | Kenya Coffee Bean Green Bean Analysis

French missionaries brought Bourbon coffee trees to Kenya around 1892-1893. This original Bourbon variety is called the French Mission Varietal. During cultivation, it avoided scientific improvement and preserved Bourbon's most original flavors.

Chania Estate's unique red volcanic soil, combined with suitable coffee growing temperatures and rainfall and an excellent natural environment, creates the unique flavor of Chania Estate's French Mission Bourbon variety.

Bourbon Variety Kenya Coffee Beans

Simply put, Bourbon coffee was initially grown on Réunion Island, locally known as Bourbon Island before 1789. Bourbon is a subspecies that mutated from Typica. Like Typica, it belongs to the oldest existing coffee varieties. When green fruits mature, they present a bright red coloration.

The Spread Route of the Bourbon Variety

In Africa, French missionaries known as Spiritans, from the Holy Ghost Congregation, played an important role in spreading Bourbon. In 1841, the first mission was established on Réunion, and a branch was founded in Zanzibar in 1859. From Zanzibar, branches were established in Bagamoyo, on the Tanzania coast then called Tanganyika, and St. Augustine at Kikuyu in Kenya in 1862, and another branch in Bura, in the Taita Hills of Kenya, in 1893. Each branch's establishment was accompanied by planting coffee seeds brought from Réunion.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated in Bura were brought to another French mission in Santa Cruz, near Nairobi. In 1900, they were introduced to the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, and seeds were 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. Coffee in Tanzania therefore remains mainly Bourbon and Kent today.

04 | Kenya Coffee Bean Processing Method Introduction

Natural-processed Kenyan coffee is relatively uncommon in the market, possibly because Kenya's washed processing quality is excellent, plus the high loss rate of natural processing and excessive labor costs. Natural-processed Kenyan coffee is generally only found in some green coffee suppliers' special custom plans. This bean is processed using the natural method. During the refined natural process, it adds substance and sweetness to the already rich and varied acidic Bourbon coffee. This natural batch is limited in quantity and is a coffee completely dependent on natural climate conditions.

05 | Kenya Coffee Bean Roasting Analysis

Bean density is medium. Roasting uses medium heat to climb. During roasting, beans heat up quickly, so we need to reduce heat at 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C to extend the Maillard reaction time while avoiding too rapid bean heating. First crack begins around 8 minutes 13 seconds at 186°C. Simultaneously reduce heat and open the air damper to develop flavors. Drop beans at 194°C after 2 minutes.

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 600g semi-direct flame (roasting amount 300g)

Preheat the machine to 170°C before loading beans, air damper set to 3. Turn on heat after 30 seconds, adjust heat to 140, keep the air damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'28". Maintain heat. At 140°C, reduce heat to 110, open air damper to 4. Yellowing at 4'20", grassy smell disappears, entering the dehydration stage. Reduce heat to 90, keep air damper at 4. At 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C, reduce heat again to 90, 70, and 50 respectively.

Dehydration complete at 7'50". Bean surface shows wrinkles and black patterns, toast smell turns to coffee aroma, preluding first crack. Pay attention to the first crack sound. First crack starts at 8'13". Open air damper fully to 5, adjust heat to 30. Post-crack development time 2 minutes, drop at 194°C.

Kenya Coffee Bean Cupping Results

This coffee has good flavor but a relatively high defect rate. Please sort carefully before and after roasting. Dry aroma has natural fermentation, dried fruit, and vanilla notes. Slurping reveals caramel, vanilla, and mixed fruits with a solid juice sensation. The aftertaste has berries, rich jackfruit, and coffee floral notes. Overall performance shows Africa's wild regional characteristics. Suitable for small sips and slow tasting, the complex aroma is hard to let go of.

06 | Kenya Coffee Bean Brewing Data

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Grind Size: 3.5 (Japanese Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

V60 dripper, 15g coffee grounds, grind 3.5

Water-to-coffee ratio: close to 1:15

30g water for the bloom, bloom time 30s

Water injection: suggest a small water flow at the beginning, for immersion extraction. When the water level drops, the water flow follows the spiral ribs, concentrating the flow. This action is like wringing a towel, simultaneously squeezing coffee particles in the water. To maximize the squeezing effect, the water level should completely soak the powder layer height.

The second water injection also starts from the center, injecting a small water column into the bottom of the powder layer. To concentrate the water column's penetration, the circular movement range should be small, about the size of a one-yuan coin, then expand outward. From the second water injection, pay attention to water volume; try not to exceed the powder layer height. That is, when the water column approaches near the filter paper, stop water injection.

Stages: Inject water to 120ml, pause, slowly inject to 225ml, i.e., 30-120-75. Total extraction time about 2 minutes.

Other Drip Extraction Recommendations:

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

AeroPress: recommended 2.5 grind size, water temperature 90°C

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

French Press Brewing Steps:

1. Weigh 20g beans, grind to coarse sugar size, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15.
2. Preheat the French press with hot water, then pour it out; pour coffee grounds into the French press.
3. Pour 89°C hot water and start timing. Stir gently after pouring to ensure all coffee grounds are soaked.
4. After four minutes, slowly press the plunger down and pour out.

Kenya Coffee Bean Brand Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Kenya coffee beans carry full guarantees in both brand and quality, and offer a bright, fruit-driven cup that works beautifully in a French press.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kenya's vivid acidity and juicy berry character are a natural match for the French press, an immersion brewer that keeps more oils in the cup for a rounder, fuller body. Aim for a coarse-sugar grind, about 10.5 on an EK43s or 26 on a hand grinder, use a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, brew at roughly 90°C, and let it steep for about 4 minutes before pressing slowly.

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