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FAQ: Certified Kenya AA Grade SL28/SL34 | Gatomboya, Mutwewathi, Gakuyuini Processing Plants

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FAQ: Certified Kenya AA Grade SL28/SL34 | Selected batches from Gatomboya, Mutwewathi, Gakuyuini processing plants? These three highly renowned processing plants in Kenya handle the wet processing of raw beans. The names of these processing plants are as follows: Gatomboya...

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

FAQ Certified Kenya AA Grade SL28/SL34 | Selected Batches from Gatomboya, Mutwewathi, Gakuyuini Processing Plants?

Three highly renowned processing plants in Kenya are responsible for green bean water processing production. The names of these water processing plants are as follows:

Gatomboya Coffee factory

Mutwewathi coffee factory

Gakuyuini coffee factory

The first water processing plant, Gatomboya, enjoys extremely high recognition in the Kenyan coffee industry. Kenya has seven processing plants listed among the world's best factories (The World's Best Factories). The Gatomboya processing plant is located in Nyeri, Kenya's most famous specialty coffee producing region, and belongs to the Barichu Co-operative Society in Nyeri. In Coffee Review's 2016 cupping records, beans produced by this processing plant, after being roasted by roasters and sent to Coffee Review for cupping, achieved a high score of 96 points, ranking it among Kenya's seven renowned processing plants. These seven renowned processing plants are also listed among the world's best green bean processing plants (The World's Best Factories).

Product Information

Product Name: Kenya AA Grade FAQ (Selected batches from three processing plants: Gatomboya, Mutwewathi, Gakuyuini)

Country: Kenya

Producer: Local smallholder collective

Varieties: Bourbon, SL28, SL34

Grade: Premium AA FAQ

Altitude: 1500 to 2000 meters

Processing Method: Washed processing

Harvest Period: N/A

Flavor Characteristics: Orange aroma, ripe fruit aroma, lemon aroma, herbal plant aroma, creamy aroma. Full-bodied and thick mouthfeel, noticeable sweetness, orange and ripe fruit aromas. The mouthfeel has an oily coating quality, thick body, rich and intense texture, moderate acidity, unique drupe aroma, sweet aftertaste in the later stages, presenting strong chocolate syrup flavors.

Introduction

No country in the world values high-quality coffee production as much as Kenya, making Kenya the best model among world coffee-producing countries. This is because all Kenyan coffee must be handed over to the government-established Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) for unified acquisition and cupping grading after harvest. Every Tuesday, the officially established Nairobi Coffee Exchange in the capital conducts public auctions. This public auction system coordinated by the government encourages over 570,000 small-scale coffee farmers throughout Kenya that good quality can easily fetch good prices. In fact, the Kenyan government's efforts include many additional support measures. The government provides numerous small coffee farmers with technical knowledge on growing good coffee, guiding nearly 300 agricultural marketing and transportation cooperatives (somewhat like Taiwan's agricultural production and marketing classes) to conduct 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 guidance. 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 Taiwanese coffee market.

Situated between Mount Kenya (volcano) and Mount Elgon, the more famous producing regions include Meru, Thika, Nyeri, Nakuru, and Embu. Kenya's terrain is complex and varied, with plateaus, deserts, canyons, and grasslands. Coffee producing areas are distributed in the central, southwestern, and eastern regions at altitudes of 1000 to 2500 meters above sea level, such as the Mount Kenya region in the central area, the Aberdare Zone, Nyanza, Kasii, and Bungoma in the west, and Kericho and Nakuru in the east. The main processing method for green beans is washed processing, 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 sieve), A grade (second-largest beans retained on 6.8mm sieve), B grade (medium beans retained on 6.2mm sieve), C grade (all small beans smaller than B grade), PB grade (oval-shaped beans), as well as TT and T grade beans that are too light or too small. A and B grade beans are mixed together for export and called AB grade. The Kenyan authorities (CBK) have very high requirements for coffee beans, using consistent packaging, and with good quality and excellent texture, coffee lovers never forget to enjoy a cup of Kenyan coffee.

The cultivation history of Kenyan coffee traces back to the late 19th century. Coffee tree varieties were introduced from the northern neighboring country Ethiopia. Through their own variety improvements, the common varieties now include four types: Bourbon, Kents (SL34, SL28), Typica, and Riuri 11. Currently, about 90% of coffee planting varieties are SL34 and SL28. The new variety Batian, released in 2007, has not yet been widely planted. The vast majority of Kenyan coffee is organically grown without certification, as improved cultivation techniques are used and chemical pesticides or herbicides are rarely used. All premium Kenyan coffee is washed processed, while sun-dried beans (M'buni) are low-grade products only for local use.

This batch of Kenya AA Grade FAQ special selection coffee has the following flavor characteristics: orange aroma, ripe fruit aroma, lemon aroma, herbal plant aroma, creamy aroma, full-bodied and thick mouthfeel, noticeable sweetness, orange and ripe fruit aromas. The mouthfeel has an oily coating quality, thick body, rich and intense texture, moderate acidity, unique drupe aroma, sweet aftertaste in the later stages, presenting strong chocolate syrup flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90 degrees

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grind size 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g of coffee. First pour 25g of water for 25s bloom. Second pour to 120g water, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring water. Slowly pour water until reaching 225g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and faster drainage speed, stopping the water flow can extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

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