Kenya Coffee Origin: Introduction to Chania Estate, French Mission Bourbon Natural Process Flavor Profile and Brewing Guide

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[FrontStreet Coffee 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 | 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, featuring dams and reservoirs spanning nearly 200 acres of land, with forests planted along the riverbanks to protect birds and wildlife.

The estate owner, Boyce Marquis Allen Harries, took over the family business of the 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. The employees have their own self-elected committee that meets monthly to discuss community safety, social, and health issues. Beyond caring for their own workers, the Harries family has also donated land to the Thika City Council and co-founded Wabeni Technical College, which teaches practical skills such as tailoring, mechanics, and woodworking, helping local residents earn their livelihood.

02 | Origin Introduction

Kenya Thika Plateau

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. This area lies at the foot of the Aberdare mountain range, with red volcanic soil rich in organic matter. Due to 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.

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

Chania Estate's unique red volcanic soil, combined with suitable coffee-growing temperatures and rainfall, plus an excellent natural environment, creates the distinctive flavor of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Thika Chania Estate French Mission variety.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

French missionaries brought Bourbon trees to Kenya around 1892-1893. This original Bourbon variety is known as the French Mission Varietal, which has avoided scientific-style improvements during cultivation, preserving the most original flavor of Bourbon.

Kenya "SL28" and "SL34": Selected and bred from Bourbon lineage by French and British missionaries and researchers in Kenya in the early 20th century, these varieties have adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil over the past century, nurturing Kenya's characteristic acidic aromatics. Top Kenyan coffees all come from these two varieties, but they lose their characteristic flavor when transplanted elsewhere.

Kenyan coffee grades are divided into seven levels based on bean size, with six grades based on flavor quality from top to bottom. Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA++, AA+, AA, AB, and so on, in descending order. Premium coffee has a bright luster, delicious taste, and a slight wine aroma. In terms of flavor, "Kenya AA" is particularly well-regarded.

Graded by bean size:

Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA, AB, etc., in descending order.

PB (PeaBerry): This grade is for small round beans. This refers to coffee cherries that grow only one bean instead of the usual two.

AA: This is a more common grade with larger coffee beans, sized above 18 mesh or 7.22 millimeters. These beans typically fetch the highest prices.

AB: This grade combines A (16 mesh or 6.80 millimeters) with B (15 mesh or 6.20 millimeters) beans, accounting for about 30% of Kenya's annual coffee production.

04 | Processing Method Introduction

This FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Chania Estate French Mission Bourbon coffee bean is processed using the natural method. During the refined natural processing, the already rich and varied acidic Bourbon coffee gains body and sweetness. This natural batch is limited in quantity—a coffee that relies entirely on natural climate conditions.

05 | Roasting Analysis

The beans have medium density, and we roast with medium heat, climbing steadily. The beans heat up quickly during the roasting process, so we reduce the heat at 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C to extend the Maillard reaction time while avoiding too rapid heating. First crack begins around 8 minutes 15 seconds at 186°C, simultaneously reducing heat and opening the damper to develop flavor, dropping the beans at 194°C after 2 minutes.

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

Preheat the roaster to 170°C before loading, damper set to 3. Start firing after 30 seconds, heat adjusted to 140, damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'28'', maintaining heat. At 140°C, reduce heat to 110, damper opened to 4. At 4'20'', beans turn yellow, grassy aroma disappears, entering dehydration stage, heat reduced to 90, damper maintained at 4. At 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C, heat is further reduced to 90, 70, and 50 respectively.

At 7'50'', dehydration completes, bean surface shows wrinkles and black markings, toast aroma turns to coffee aroma—prelude to first crack. Pay attention to the sound of first crack. At 8'13'', first crack begins, damper fully opened to 5, while heat adjusted to 30. Post-first crack development time is 2 minutes, dropping beans at 194°C.

This FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Chania Estate natural French Mission Bourbon coffee has good flavor but a relatively high defect rate. Please sort carefully before roasting. The dry aroma has natural fermentation, dried fruit, and vanilla notes. When slurping, you can taste caramel, vanilla, mixed fruits, with a solid juice sensation. The aftertaste has berries, rich jackfruit, and coffee flower aromas. The overall expression shows the wild regional characteristics of Africa, suitable for small sips to slowly savor—the complex aroma is hard to let go~

06 | Brewing Data

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Grind size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water temperature: 90-91°C

V60 filter, 15 grams of coffee, grind size 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30 grams of water for bloom, bloom time 30s

Segmented: Pour water to 120ml, pause, then slowly pour to 225ml

That is 30-120-75, total extraction time about 2 minutes.

Other drip extraction suggestions:

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

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

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

Grind size 3.5 - 90°C water temperature

Related recommendations: FrontStreet Coffee World Coffee Estate Regional Introduction: Detailed introduction to Kenya, the coffee-producing country

Important Notice :

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