Exceptionally Rare Natural Process Kenyan French Mission Bourbon: A Coffee Origin Discovery

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

Origin Introduction

Coffee from each county in Kenya is quite distinct. The entire country is divided into 47 "counties."

Different counties have distinctly different 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, primarily on the foothills of Mt. Kenya and Aberdare. For example, Embu region coffee characteristics: balanced, citrus fruits, chocolate, apple acidity. Nyeri region coffee characteristics: white grape, juicy, grapefruit and small tomato flavors, full of fruitiness, sweet like caramel.

Different counties have distinctly different 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, primarily on the foothills of Mt. Kenya and Aberdare. For example, Thika Kenyan plateau coffee characteristics: balanced, citrus fruits, chocolate, apple, plum acidity. Nyeri region coffee characteristics: white grape, juicy, grapefruit and small tomato flavors, full of fruitiness, sweet like caramel.

Thika - Kiambu

Kiambu coffee growing region is located in the central highlands east of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with Thika being a secondary area. Located at the foot of the Aberdare mountain range, the soil here 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 September to December.

KIAMBU

This production area in central Kenya has the highest altitude coffee growing areas in the region.

The Kiambu region has some large coffee estates, where small farmers and their cooperatives work closely together. They mostly have their own processing plants, which provide growers with better options than unified acquisition and sale of coffee. 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, thus ceasing growth. This production area is named after Nakuru town. Coffee cultivation here takes the form of 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

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, with forests planted along the riverbanks to protect birds and wildlife.

Estate owner Boyce Marquis Allen Harries took over the family business (Harries & Son Ltd.) of the Estates and A.I.R. 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. In addition to taking care of their own workers, the Harries family also donated land to the Thika City Council and co-founded the Wabeni Technical College, which teaches practical skills such as tailoring, mechanics, and woodworking to help local residents make a living.

The Harries Story: An Estate with 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 surveys across the country, Allen Charles established the Karamaini estate in what would later become the Thika area. It took him two days to travel 30 miles from Nairobi by donkey cart.

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

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

Here, Evan set out to discover 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, and in the early 1950s, based on his initials, he named his enterprise A.I.R. Harries & Son Ltd. In 1946, Evan's son Peter Allen Harries completed his studies in New Zealand.

He and his wife Ina (a New Zealander) joined his father, 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.

In the late 1950s, Peter inherited the operation of both farms after 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 later only surviving son, David Hugh Allen Harries (b.1947), took on 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 operation of both estates and the family business A.I.R. Harries & Son Ltd.

Green Bean Analysis

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

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

Bourbon Variety

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

The Spread of Bourbon Variety

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 church was established in Réunion, and a branch was established in Zanzibar in 1859; from Zanzibar, branches were established in Bagamoyo (Tanzania coast, then called Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya) in 1862, and another branch was established in Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya) in 1893. And with the establishment of each branch, coffee seeds brought from Réunion were planted.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated in Bura were brought to another French church in Santa Cruz (near Nairobi), and in 1900 introduced to the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, distributing seeds 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 still mainly Bourbon and Kent.

Processing Method Introduction

Natural processed Kenyan coffee is relatively uncommon in the market, possibly because the quality of Kenyan washed processing is excellent, plus the high loss rate and labor costs of natural processing. Natural processed Kenyan coffee can generally only be found in some special custom plans of green bean merchants. This FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Chania Estate French Mission Bourbon coffee is processed using the natural method, during which the refined natural process adds body and sweetness to the already rich and varied acidic Bourbon coffee. This natural batch is limited in quantity and is a coffee that entirely depends on natural climate conditions.

Roasting Analysis

The bean density is medium, and roasting uses medium heat to 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 quickly. First crack begins at around 8 minutes 15 seconds at 186°C, while reducing heat and opening the air damper to develop flavors. At 2 minutes, drop at 194°C.

Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Fire (Roasting amount 300g)

Preheat the roaster to 170°C, set air damper to 3, turn on heat after 30S, adjust heat to 140, air damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'28'', maintain heat, adjust heat down to 110 at 140°C, air damper open to 4. At 4'20'' beans turn yellow, grass smell disappears, enter dehydration stage, adjust heat down to 90, air damper remains at 4. At 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C, adjust heat down again to 90, 70, and 50 respectively.

At 7'50'', dehydration completed, wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell turns to coffee aroma, as a prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listen for the sound of first crack. At 8'13'', first crack begins, air damper fully open to 5, while adjusting heat to 30. Development time after first crack is 2 minutes, dropping at 194°C.

Cupping Results

This FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Chania Estate Natural French Mission Bourbon coffee has good flavor, but the defect rate is relatively high, so please select carefully before and after roasting. The dry aroma has natural fermentation, dried fruit, and vanilla notes. When sipping, you can taste caramel, vanilla, mixed fruits, with a solid juice-like texture. The aftertaste has berries, rich jackfruit, and coffee flower notes. The overall performance has the wild regional characteristics of Africa, suitable for sipping slowly in small sips. The complex aroma is hard to give up~

Brewing Parameters

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Grind size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water temperature: 90~91°C

V60

V60 dripper, 15g of coffee, ground at 3.5

Water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30ml water for bloom, bloom time is 30s

For water pouring, it is recommended to use a small water flow in the early stage, with immersion extraction. When the water level drops, the water flow will follow 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, control the water level to completely soak the height of the coffee powder layer.

The second water pour also starts from the center, injecting a small water column into the bottom of the powder layer. To concentrate the penetrating power of the water column, the range of circular movement should be small, about the size of a coin, and then extend outward. From the second water pour, pay attention to the water amount, try not to exceed the height of the powder layer. That is, when the water column reaches close to the filter paper, you can stop pouring water.

Segmented: Pour water to 120ml, pause, slowly pour to 225ml, i.e., 30-120-75, total extraction time about 2 minutes.

Other Drip Extraction Recommendations:

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

French Press Method:

1. Weigh 20g of 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-degree hot water in and start timing. After pouring the water, stir gently to ensure all coffee grounds are wet.

4. After four minutes, slowly press the plunger down, and it's ready to serve.

Related recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee World Coffee Estate Region Introduction: Detailed introduction of Kenya, coffee producing country

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473