Recommended Kenyan Coffee Brands and an Introduction to Coffee Bean Grading System

FrontStreet Coffee: Kenyan Coffee Brands and the Grading System

Kenya is known for its bright acidity, alluring fruity sweetness, and distinctive flavor profile, which is why it remains a favorite among coffee drinkers. Within that world, AA-grade Kenyan coffee stands out for its exceptional quality and carries real prestige. Kenya's AA grade is assigned by bean size, and the system behind it is genuinely worth understanding.

Grading by Growing Altitude

This standard exists because coffee grown higher usually outperforms coffee grown lower. Higher altitude and cooler temperatures slow ripening, which lets desirable compounds accumulate. Slow-ripened green beans also expand well during roasting, which supports more consistent, stable quality.

Producing countries that use altitude grading include Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and other Central and South American nations. Guatemala is a good example. Its top grade is SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), grown above 1,350 meters. Below that come HB (Hard Bean) at 1,200-1,400 meters, SH (Semi Hard Bean), EPW (Extra Prime Washed), PW (Prime Washed), EGW (Extra Good Washed), and GW (Good Washed), which correspond to roughly 1,200 meters, 1,000 meters, 800 meters, 600-800 meters, and below 600 meters respectively.

Grading by Screen Size

Some argue bean size has nothing to do with flavor; Yemeni coffee, for instance, comes in a range of sizes and still ranks among the finest in the world. Even so, in many producing regions bean size is a highly useful indicator of quality. There, large, full beans with clean curves signal vigorous growth and full maturity, which in turn supports the best possible flavor.

Beans of similar maturity also tend to cup consistently, which helps produce dependable quality. That is why most coffee farms in the New World grade this way.

The method uses a series of perforated screens. Screens come in numbered specifications tied to hole size, measured in 1/64-inch units. A hole 18/64 inch across is a screen 18; 17/64 inch is a screen 17, and so on through 19, 16, 15, 14, and the rest.

In practice, beans are placed on a screen and shaken, either mechanically or by hand. Beans small enough to fall through are separated and passed on to smaller screens. Layer by layer, each lot finds its grade.

After screening, beans are sorted into AA, A, B, C, and PB. AA is the highest, with quality declining through A, B, and C; anything below C typically goes to animal feed or fertilizer. Peaberries, prized for their distinct flavor and naturally smaller size, form their own category (PB) and usually fetch a premium. You may also see X, Y1, Y2, and T grades - those lots vary in size and contain many defects, making them inferior and not worth trying.

Regions that commonly grade this way include Kenya, New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Uganda, where only AA and above count as specialty coffee. Many Brazilian coffees use the same principle, but Brazil states the screen size directly (19, 18, 17...) rather than using AA, A, B, C.

Grading by Screen Size and Defect Ratio

Defective beans can wreck the final cup, so removing them is a critical last step in green coffee preparation. That makes defect counts important, and pairing defect ratio with screen size gives another key grading method.

As specialty coffee has grown, producing countries have focused more on quality control, and managing defects is one of the most effective levers. Using defect ratio as a primary grade or as a supplementary criterion has therefore become common.

Countries that grade this way include Jamaica, Brazil, and Ethiopia. Jamaica uses a combined standard of region, altitude, screen size, and defect ratio. Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1, for example, means premium beans from the Blue Mountain region, grown above 1,700 meters, sized on screens 18/17, with a maximum defect ratio of 2%. Defect ratio is decisive evidence here: Jamaica tightly controls defects, and no grade may exceed 4%.

Brazil is another special case. As the world's largest producer, it has so much volume and so many growing regions that a single standard cannot work. Brazil therefore grades using several methods at once - defect ratio, screen size, and cupping - and cupping is one of the hallmarks of its system.

Further Reading: Cupping

Cupping means evaluating green beans that have been roasted, ground, and steeped in hot water (around 94°C) to assess their aroma and flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Kenya's grading system has you curious, start with the beans that show the style at its best.

FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato - a specialty washed Kenyan bean built around vivid cherry-tomato and smoked-plum acidity with a full, juicy body. It comes from Kenya's Thika region at 1,550-1,750 meters, uses the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, and the beans are plump and round. Processing follows Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation, which draws out the fruit while keeping the cup clean. FrontStreet roasts it light to preserve the lively acidity and layered fruit. The dry aroma shows concentrated dried tomato and florals; the entry is clean cherry tomato and smoked plum; mid-palate sweetness brings snow pear and black plum; and the finish is clean and long with brown-sugar sweetness and a touch of green tea.

FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 - the classic example of the defect-ratio approach in practice, and an easy-to-love, balanced cup. It is washed processed and shows hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel notes with a rounded, even body - sweet, acidic, and bitter in careful balance, with no single note shouting over the others.