Flavor Profile of African Washed Kenya Coffee Beans Characteristics of Kenya K72 Processing Method

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A few days ago, FrontStreet Coffee just received three different cooperatives of washed Kenya. Speaking of Kenyan coffee, what people can't forget is its intense fruit acidity, distinctive fruity aroma, rich body, and beautiful balance. Today, let's compare these three beans - Blackberry Muse, Timani Girl, and Komatina - to see how their flavors differ despite all being washed Kenyan coffee.

Kenya

The full name of Kenya is the Republic of Kenya, located in eastern Africa, with the equator crossing through the central part and the East African Rift Valley running north to south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, while facing the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The country is mostly plateau with an average altitude of 1500 meters. The central Mount Kirinyaga peaks at 5199 meters with snow on top, making it the second highest peak in Africa.

Altitude, Latitude, and Geology

The equator runs through Kenya, with the country located within ten degrees north and south latitude. This tropical region has two rainy seasons annually, allowing for two harvests: 60% concentrated from October to December, and the remaining 40% from June to August. Coffee is mainly grown in volcanic areas at altitudes of 1600-2100 meters around the capital Nairobi to the Kenya mountain region, with most coffee cultivated above 1500 meters. This altitude is ideal for developing coffee bean flavors because the lower mountain temperatures lead to slower growth, allowing the aromatic components of coffee beans to fully develop, resulting in more pronounced fruit acidity and harder beans. This crescent-shaped, fertile coffee region is the main production area for Kenya's specialty beans. Coffee is Kenya's second largest export trade product after tea.

Kenya's coffee producing regions are most famous for seven regions: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, Ruiri, and Muranga. Among these, the foothills of Mt. Kenya and Aberdare are the main producing areas.

Region Introduction

Kenya Blackberry Muse

Kenya Blackberry Muse batch is produced in NYERI (Nyeri). Nyeri: Located in central Kenya, Nyeri is home to the extinct volcanic Mount Kenya. The red soil in this region nurtures Kenya's finest coffee; agriculture is extremely important here, with coffee being the main crop. Cooperatives formed by small farmers are more common than large estates. This region has two harvests, but coffee from the main season usually has higher quality. This producing area is famous for its blackberry-like rich acidity and floral-fruity aromas.

Kenya Blackberry Muse batch is made from specially selected red coffee cherries with extremely high ripeness, picked by coffee farmers and sent to the washing station for processing on the same day. Before pulping, an additional manual selection process is added to screen out unripe coffee cherries. After pulping, the coffee beans undergo 72 hours of soaking and fermentation, then naturally dried on raised drying beds. All water used for coffee processing comes from the clean water source of the Langdu River.

Kenya Timani Girl

Kenya Timani Girl comes from Karatina, a micro-region within NYERI (Nyeri). The Ndima-ini processing factory is part of the Gakuyu cooperative, which separated from the large Mathera cooperative in 1996 to become independent. The Gakuyu cooperative has only two factories - Ndima-ini and Kirigu - employing 1800 people. The Kirigu factory is named after the Kirigu River, which is located near the factory and provides water for processing coffee cherries.

For the past 20 years, approximately 850 small farm owners have delivered ripe coffee cherries to the Ndima-ini factory for processing by factory manager John Kamau. Unlike the usual 72-hour fermentation washed processing method for Kenyan coffee, this Kenya Timani Girl undergoes 80 hours of soaking and fermentation after pulping, before being naturally dried on raised drying beds.

Kenya Komatina

Kenya Komatina is produced in KIAMBU (Kiambu), a region in central Kenya that has the highest altitude coffee growing areas in the region, with Thika also belonging to this producing area. However, some coffee trees at high altitudes suffer from dieback disease, which stops their growth. This producing area is named after Nakuru town.

Coffee cultivation here includes both estates and small farmers, though production is relatively small. This region is a traditional tea growing area, and coffee beans have vanilla and floral aromas.

Varieties (SL28, SL34)

As early as the 1930s, the Kenyan government commissioned the newly established Scott Labs to select varieties suitable for the country. After screening 42 initial varieties one by one and numbering them, they finally obtained SL-28 and SL-34. The former originated from Bourbon, while SL-34 originated from Typica. These two are not varieties from the same series.

The original goal of breeding SL28 was to produce large quantities of high-quality coffee beans that could resist pests and diseases. However, in some producing regions, the breeding goals were mainly high yield and disease resistance, without considering pest resistance.

Thanks to its Bourbon genetics, although the yield of SL28 was later lower than expected, the copper-colored leaves and broad bean-shaped beans have wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex, varied flavors, as well as prominent citrus and black plum characteristics.

SL34 has similar flavors to SL28, but with a cleaner and smoother mouthfeel besides the complex acidity and wonderful sweet finish. SL34 has French Mission, Bourbon, and more Typica bloodlines. The bean appearance is similar to SL28, but it's more adapted to rainforest growth.

It was later proven that the former received quite high praise, typically having blackcurrant-like acidity with complex flavor expressions; while the latter, though slightly inferior, still has impressive fruity flavors. These two varieties now account for 90% of Kenya's production, becoming generally recognized representatives of Kenyan coffee varieties. Currently, South America is also actively introducing SL28 as a cultivation variety.

Processing Method (72-hour Fermentation Washed Processing)

The 72-hour fermentation washed processing method is a cyclic repeated processing method of washing after harvest and fermentation. On the day of harvest, the highest quality coffee cherries are selected, pulped, and fermented for 24 hours. After 24 hours, they are washed with clean river water.

Then, they are fermented for another 24 hours with clean river water, and washed again. This process is repeated for 3 cycles, reaching 72 hours, hence called the Kenyan 72-hour fermentation washed processing method, abbreviated as K72.

Cupping Chart

Kenya Blackberry Muse

Flavor: Woody, blueberry, black plum, cane sugar, cherry tomato.

Kenya Timani Girl

Flavor: Black plum, berries, cherry tomato, plum, cream.

Kenya Komatina

Flavor: Black plum, cherry tomato, plum, caramel.

Brewing Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee shares brewing parameters:

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over
Dripper: Hario V60
Water temperature: 90°C
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15/1:16
Grind size: Medium-fine grind (BG 7T: 58% pass-through rate with China standard #20 sieve)
Brewing technique:分段式萃取

Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. Continue pouring in small circular motions to 124g, then segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g and stop. Remove the dripper when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time: 2'00".

Flavors:

Kenya Blackberry Muse: Herbal notes, black plum, cherry tomato, cream, and blueberry at entry, with honey-like sweet aftertaste.

Kenya Timani Girl: Berry, nut, black plum, and cream at entry, with woody notes and a hint of tomato flavor in the finish.

Kenya Komatina: Noticeable tomato and black plum acidity at entry, with plum, honey, and cream, and cane sugar sweet aftertaste in the finish.

Conclusion

Through comparing these three Kenyan coffees, they all have cherry tomato, black plum, and cream flavors with noticeable aftertaste and sweetness, but the acidity profiles of these three are still different. The acidity of Kenya Blackberry Muse is blueberry-like, with obvious woody notes and lighter cherry tomato flavor. The acidity of Kenya Timani Girl is strawberry-like, with nutty and creamy aromas, and cherry tomato flavors emerge only in the finish. Kenya Komatina has tomato and black plum acidity, with very obvious cane sugar sweetness in the aftertaste.

Important Notice :

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