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

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 washed green-bean production. Their names are:

Gatomboya Coffee factory

Mutwewathi Coffee factory

Gakuyuini Coffee factory

The first of these, 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 region, and belongs to the Barichu Co-operative Society in Nyeri. In Coffee Review's 2016 cupping records, beans produced by this plant, after being roasted and submitted to Coffee Review, achieved a high score of 96 points, ranking it among Kenya's seven renowned processing plants, which are also listed among the world's best green-bean processing plants.

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, a unique drupe aroma, a sweet aftertaste in the later stages, and strong chocolate syrup flavors.

Introduction

No country in the world values high-quality coffee production as much as Kenya, which makes it the best model among coffee-producing nations. All Kenyan coffee must be handed over after harvest to the government-established Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) for unified acquisition and cupping grading. Every Tuesday, the officially established Nairobi Coffee Exchange in the capital holds a public auction. This government-coordinated auction system encourages the country's more than 570,000 small-scale coffee farmers, showing them that good quality easily earns a good price. The Kenyan government's efforts include many additional support measures. It provides numerous smallholders with technical knowledge for growing good coffee and guides nearly 300 agricultural marketing and transport cooperatives, similar to farmers' production and marketing groups, toward better green-bean processing. The CBK invests effort and educational guidance in coffee production, quality research, sales, and even financial guidance. This has created the unmatched quality and flavor of Kenyan coffee, which is deeply loved by coffee buyers worldwide.

Situated between Mount Kenya (a volcano) and Mount Elgon, Kenya's better-known producing regions include Meru, Thika, Nyeri, Nakuru, and Embu. Kenya's terrain is complex and varied, with plateaus, deserts, canyons, and grasslands. Coffee areas are distributed in the central, southwestern, and eastern regions at altitudes of 1,000 to 2,500 meters, such as the Mount Kenya region in the center, the Aberdare Zone, Nyanza, Kasii, and Bungoma in the west, and Kericho and Nakuru in the east. Green beans are mainly washed processed, and grading by bean size and cupping determines actual value. The highest grade is AA (large beans retained on a 7.2 mm sieve), followed by A (the second-largest beans, retained on a 6.8 mm sieve), B (medium beans retained on a 6.2 mm sieve), C (all small beans smaller than B), and PB (peaberry, the oval beans), as well as TT and T beans that are too light or too small. A and B beans are mixed for export and called AB grade. Kenya's authorities (CBK) set very high requirements for beans and use consistent packaging, and with such quality and texture, coffee lovers never forget a cup of Kenyan coffee.

Kenya's coffee cultivation history goes back to the late 19th century, when varieties were introduced from neighboring Ethiopia to the north. Through their own improvements, common varieties today include four types: Bourbon, Kents (SL34, SL28), Typica, and Riuri 11. About 90% of current plantings 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, since improved cultivation techniques are used and chemical pesticides or herbicides are rarely applied. All premium Kenyan coffee is washed processed, while sun-dried beans (M'buni) are low-grade products for local use only.

This batch of Kenya AA Grade FAQ special selection carries the following flavor: orange aroma, ripe fruit aroma, lemon aroma, herbal plant aroma, and creamy aroma, with a full-bodied, thick mouthfeel and noticeable sweetness. The palate has an oily coating quality, thick body, rich and intense texture, moderate acidity, a unique drupe aroma, a sweet aftertaste in the later stages, and 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, 15 g of coffee. First pour 25 g of water for a 25-second bloom. Second pour to 120 g, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring. Pour slowly until reaching 225 g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: A three-stage pour clearly defines the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the water flow extends the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kenya is one of the great washed origins, and FrontStreet Kenya Cherry Tomato is a superb example of the style. It comes from Kenya's Thika region, grown at 1,550-1,750 meters with the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties and dense, rounded beans. It is processed with Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation, which draws out the fruit while keeping the cup clean, and FrontStreet roasts it light to preserve the lively acidity and layered fruit. The dry aroma already shows concentrated cherry tomato and florals, and the cup opens with clear cherry tomato and smoked plum, bright, solid acidity with the fullness of fresh juice, a sweet mid-palate of snow pear and black plum, and a clean, long finish with brown sugar sweetness and a hint of green tea.

For another clean washed coffee with a different accent, FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative brings jasmine florals and bright citrus and lemon acidity on a tea-like body, a medium-light roast adding green tea and honey. It is a fine counterpoint to a Kenyan cup and works for pour-over, cold brew, or espresso.

And if balance rather than brightness is what you want from a washed bean, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 offers hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel in a cup that is rich and pure, with no note dominating or missing.