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Coffee African Origin Characteristics | Kenya AA Grade Classification Region Flavor Profile Characteristics

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - African Coffee Origins. Kenya coffee growing region characteristics overview. Kenya is a model country for producing excellent coffee. The high-altitude Arabica washed beans grown in Kenya are among the world's finest coffee beans. Introduced by the British from Ethiopia in 1900, today

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

FrontStreet Coffee - African Coffee Origins: Introduction to Kenya Coffee Growing Regions

Kenya is a model country for producing excellent coffee. The high-altitude Arabica washed beans produced in Kenya are among the world's finest coffee beans. Coffee was introduced from Ethiopia by the British in 1900. Today, it represents the largest sector of agricultural economy, accounting for approximately 50% of the total. About 80% of the nation's population works in coffee-related industries. Since 1963, most Kenyan coffee beans have been uniformly graded and inspected by the Kenya Coffee Board before being sold at auction.

The AA grade represents all coffee beans sized between 17-18 screen, while AB grade represents coffee beans sized between 15-16 screen, with 10% allowable below 15 screen. However, there is no direct correlation to actual quality. The Kenya Coffee Board maintains very strict standards for coffee research, development, and quality management. Through their excellent auction system, coffee bean prices are increased, indirectly helping the hardworking coffee farmers. Through agricultural education, coffee farmers' cultivation techniques are continuously updated and improved to produce better coffee. High-quality Kenyan coffee with its special, strong blackberry fruit acidity has limited production. These coffee beans are excellent coffee estates that green bean merchants compete to acquire.

Coffee beans typically consist of two pea-shaped seeds (commonly called female beans). Peaberries (PB), on the other hand, grow in a round or oval shape (commonly called male beans). There are comparison photos available. Kenyan peaberries are a variant of Kenyan beans, selected by hand. Among all coffee peaberries, they have the most distinctive character, unique variations, the widest roasting range, and are also the most familiar peaberry to friends.

Thika Region

The Asali Cooperative AA Top grade is produced in the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains in Kenya, in the Thika region near the eastern Great Rift Valley bordering Ethiopia. This cooperative consists of 155 small coffee farming families that own the water processing plant, with an annual production of 1,200 bags of green coffee beans. The coffee comes entirely from nearby small coffee farmers' cultivated green coffee beans. On average, each farmer grows 250 coffee trees and delivers harvested red cherries to the washing station for processing. The characteristic of coffee from this region is its blackcurrant aroma and flavor. Flavor description: grapefruit aroma, mulberry, caramel, candied-like sweet and sour sensation, full-bodied and juicy, crisp and sweet.

Currently common varieties include Bourbon, Kents (SL34, SL28), Typica, and Riuri 11. Today, about 90% of coffee cultivation varieties are SL34 and SL28. The new variety Batian, released in 2007, has not yet been widely cultivated. The vast majority of Kenyan coffee is organically grown without certification because improved cultivation techniques are used, with very minimal use of chemical pesticides or herbicides. All premium Kenyan coffee is washed processed. Sun-dried beans that are not washed processed (M'buni) are low-grade products only for local use.

Knowledge Extension

Full-bodied AA grade beans are round with thick flesh, excellent heat conductivity, rich flavor, good expansion, with both aroma and sweetness being of superior quality. Coffee beans of this grade are often considered by many to be among the best coffee in the world.

In Summary

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