Kenya Thika Estate French Mission Bourbon Natural. Thika Estate Introduction

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FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Chania Estate French Mission Bourbon Natural Process

Coffee Origin Information

Country: Kenya

Region: Central Province, Thika

Altitude: 1,525 meters

Rainfall: Approximately 800 mm

Variety: French Mission Bourbon

Estate: Chania Estate

Processing Method: Natural process

Flavor Profile: Bold, rounded tropical fruit, floral notes, grape, black currant, strawberry, and wine-like aromas.

The History Behind French Mission Bourbon

To understand what makes this green coffee so distinctive, you have to understand where it comes from. French Mission is the original Bourbon, brought to East Africa by French missionaries in the late 1800s. Kenya's annual rainfall of 760 mm, an average climate of 22-28 degrees Celsius, and deep red volcanic soil together create the conditions this variety needs to express its full genetic potential.

Chania Estate: A Legacy of Excellence

Chania Estate is a medium-sized coffee plantation owned by A.I.R. Harries and Son Ltd, a family business based in Thika, Central Province, Kenya. The Harries family has lived in the Thika area since 1904 and has been growing coffee for nearly a century. Over the years the family has donated more than 50 acres of land to the Thika Municipal Council and co-founded the Wabeni Technical Institute, an organization that teaches practical, income-earning skills such as sewing, electrical mechanics, and woodworking to underprivileged children.

Estate Operations and Coffee Production

The estate currently farms 180 acres of coffee, having reduced its planted area by 90 acres over the past two years. It can produce approximately 120 tons of parchment coffee a year. The varieties grown here include French Mission, K7, SL28, SL34, SL14, and Ruiru 11. The estate keeps 20 permanent staff, some of them third-generation family members, and hires up to 120 additional workers during harvest.

The Vision Behind FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Natural

This specialty natural-processed green coffee from FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya selection was inspired by Jason Long of Cafe Imports, who explains:

"Chania is one of the few large estates in Kenya that still maintains the French Mission variety, and SL-34 appears to be more closely related to Mission Bourbon than to SL-28, which is what creates the distinctive black currant fruit bomb and grape flavors of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee. Second, I often pick up citrus notes in French Mission varieties on the cupping table. I don't necessarily enjoy every natural-processed coffee from every region, but I deeply love natural-processed Ethiopian beans because the green beans themselves are so unique, allowing a perfect marriage of natural-process flavors with the bean's inherent character. To me, Kenyan green coffee also carries extremely distinctive flavor characteristics, and that is where this story begins."

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this natural Kenyan profile appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's natural-process lineup is a natural next step. The FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry is sorted from fully ripe, all-red fruit and dried on raised beds, then given a medium-light roast that keeps its elegant floral lift and bright acidity while adding pronounced tropical fruit, a full fermentation sweetness, and a rounded body.

For a bolder, more layered natural expression, try the FrontStreet Huakui, also from Ethiopia. Grown at very high altitude on fertile soil and processed as a natural, it opens with delicate aromatics, then delivers light fermentation, florals, citrus, and mango, with honeyed sweetness, a cocoa edge, a hint of spice, a thick body, and a long finish.

Closer to home, the FrontStreet 2013 Natural Yunnan Small Bean is a Typica grown at FrontStreet Coffee's own estate and sun-dried during Yunnan's dry season. It highlights nutty notes while balancing sweet and tart, with a touch more sweetness than a typical washed coffee, berry-like acidity, suggestions of dried apricot and brown sugar, and a faint tea-like finish.