Which Kenya Coffee Bean Brands Taste Best? How Many Types of Single-Origin Coffee Exist?

FrontStreet Coffee - Kenya Coffee and Single Origin Coffee Variety Knowledge Sharing

Kenya is one of the world's top five premium coffee-producing regions, and its beans are highly prized in the trade for their unique geography and distinctive fruit flavors. The most professional baristas will tell you that Kenyan coffee ranks among the finest. Its taste is as intriguing as the country's natural landscape, with an irresistible aroma. Kenya's high altitude and cooler mountain temperatures stretch out the ripening period of the beans, which encourages the buildup of complex fruit aromas. The vivid acidity and rich fruit notes, such as blackcurrant and grapefruit, are what make Kenyan coffee so bold and mature.

Knowledge Bonus

In the nineteenth century, during the First Opium War, the Qing Dynasty was defeated. In 1858 (the 8th year of the Xianfeng reign), the Qing court signed the Treaty of Tianjin with Russia, the United States, Britain, and France respectively. Anping Port in southern Taiwan and Tamsui Port in northern Taiwan were designated as open ports. The British merchant Tait & Co. (Note 1) came to Taiwan for business because of the opening of Taiwanese ports. Tait & Co. was affiliated with the English East India Company, which played an important role as a coffee trader in the history of British coffee development in the seventeenth century.

Kenyan coffee is graded by bean size and shape into AA, AB, C, E, PB, TT, T, ML, and MH. These grades mainly describe the shape and size of the beans, and they do not necessarily reflect quality. Many people believe that larger beans hold more aromatic oils and therefore produce more aroma, and for that reason larger beans fetch higher prices on the market.

Grade Classifications

AA Grade: Bean size (Screen Size) between 17-18 mesh (7.20mm sieve screen), with limited production. This is the most favored grade in China's mid-to-high-end market.

AB Grade: Bean size (Screen Size) between 15-16 mesh (6.8mm-6.2mm sieve screen), accounting for the majority of production and being the most common raw bean grade.

Kenya's coffee-producing regions are best known for seven major areas: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, Ruiri, and Muranga. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Kenya Asali comes from the Kiambu region, featuring bright acidity, berry aroma, and distinct cherry tomato flavors.

There are over 500 species of coffee trees and 6,000 varieties, most of them tropical trees and shrubs. The world has four main types of coffee trees, but only two have real commercial value and are cultivated on a large scale. The beans produced by these two are also superior to those from the other coffee trees.

The first is Arabica. World-famous coffees such as Blue Mountain coffee and Mocha coffee are almost exclusively Arabica. The other is Robusta, whose coffee tree originates from the Congo in Africa. Different varieties of coffee beans taste different, but even coffee trees of the same variety produce beans with unique flavors because of the influence of different soils and climates.

Knowledge Bonus

Kenya's key varieties were developed in 1930, when the local Scott Laboratories set out to improve the coffee industry. Working with local Kenyan varieties, they hoped to breed high-yield, disease-resistant, weather-adaptable plants suited to local soil conditions. By crossing traditional local varieties such as Bourbon, Mocha, and Typica, they created two future stars: SL28 and SL34. In the cup, these two show intense fruit notes that surpass traditional Bourbon, including fruit acids, citrus, and preserved plum characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Kenya Cherry Tomato is the bottle-your-attention Kenyan washed coffee to try. Grown in Kenya's Thika region between 1,550 and 1,750 meters from the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, its plump, rounded beans go through Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation and are then roasted light to hold on to the lively acidity and layered fruit. The dry aroma already shows rich dried cherry tomato and florals; the cup opens with clear cherry tomato and preserved plum, supported by a bright, solid acidity that feels like freshly squeezed juice. Mid-palate sweetness rises, threaded with pear and black plum, and the finish stays clean and long with brown-sugar sweetness and a faint green tea note.

If you prefer tropical fruit over savory fruit, FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui is a natural counterpart. Its aroma is dominated by strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee, with low bitterness and a smooth, juicy body that has won it a reputation as the coffee that does not taste like coffee.