Kenya AA Pour-Over Ratio and Flavor Profile Introduction

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FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Coffee Grading

Kenyan coffee is graded mainly by bean size, shape, and hardness. From highest to lowest, the grades run: AA (or AA+), AB, PB, C, E, TT, and T.

AA Grade

Screen size 17-18.

AB Grade

Screen size 15-16. AB accounts for the majority of production and is the most common green bean grade.

C Grade

Screen size 12-14.

PB Grade

Peaberry — round beans from cherries containing a single seed, roughly 10% of the total crop.

E Grade (Elephant Beans)

Large mutant beans formed when two seeds fuse into one — also called elephant ear beans. Mostly above screen 18, and very rare.

TT Grade

Lighter-weight beans blown out from AA and AB lots by an air classifier — soft beans that fail the hardness standard.

T Grade

Below screen 12. T grade consists of light beans blown out from C lots by air classification, with a soft texture that misses the hardness standard, small particle size, and many defects.

MH/ML Grade

Unwashed and unsorted beans that fell to the ground after harvest — about 7% of the crop and the lowest grade, sold only on the Kenyan domestic market.

The above is Kenya's official national grading system. On top of it, Kenyan exporters and green coffee traders have added special sub-grades for AA and AB lots (not officially recognized by the government): TOP, PLUS (+), and FAQ, in descending order.

TOP

Assigned on the basis of cupping results, this is not an official Kenyan national standard. Exporters award it themselves, inevitably with commercial considerations in play, so treat it as a reference only. In the end, everything must come back to your own roasting and cupping to be correct and useful.

PLUS (+)

Because the criteria are set by people, Company A and Company B may grade the same lot differently — without a unified standard, cupping-based grading has no fixed yardstick. Again, treat it as a reference and trust your own cupping.

FAQ

Fair to Average Quality. These lots contain some slightly defective beans, but nothing that materially affects the flavor.

Which brings us to the labels we so often see — "AA+" and even "AA++". Are they actually anything special?

FrontStreet Coffee · Brewing Kenya Asali

Dripper: V60

Grind size: BG 5R (58% pass-through on the China standard No. 20 sieve)

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Technique: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds; first pour in a slow, small spiral up to 120g, then pause; second pour slightly larger, up to 225ml — a 30-120-75 split — for a total extraction time of about 2 minutes.

[FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Asali]: The dry aroma offers ripe tomato and floral notes. Served hot, the cup opens with caramel and brown sugar sweetness; as it cools slightly, bright cherry tomato and dark plum acidity emerge. The acidity is lively, the mouthfeel clean, the body medium, with prominent sweetness through the mid-palate and a juicy finish.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: More Kenya to Explore

If Asali's tomato-and-plum character has you hooked, FrontStreet Coffee suggests trying the Kenya Cherry Tomato lot next. It comes from the Thika region, grown at 1550-1750 meters on the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, and processed with Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation, which coaxes out maximum fruit while keeping the cup spotless. Roasted light to preserve its lively acidity, it opens with dried cherry tomato and floral aromas, pours across the palate like fresh-squeezed juice, and carries a clear cherry tomato and dark plum core with snow pear and black plum accents through the middle. The finish is clean and long, with yellow sugar sweetness and a whisper of green tea.