Recommended Delicious Coffee: Kenya AA Washed Berries Acidic Flavor

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FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Dedan AA TOP Washed Introduction

Kenya Dedan AA TOP

Country: Kenya

Region: Nyeri

Altitude: 1700-1800 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Grade: AA TOP

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Flavor Description: Crisp plum, plum, sour orange, dried tangerine peel, with a pleasant bright acidity in the aftertaste

What makes this particular batch of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee special is that it wasn't grown by a cooperative or a private estate — it was cultivated by a university.

The biodiversity here is achieved through three components: coffee plantations, livestock, and horticulture. The farm covers 650 hectares, with coffee the most extensive crop at 293 hectares, where 179,658 coffee trees at different growth stages are planted. The coffee farm dates back to the colonial era of 1919, when it was established for the coffee export trade of the time. In the 1950s the Kimathi Institute of Technology purchased the farm, and Dedan Kimathi University of Technology officially took it over in 2012. The farmland now operates on a non-profit basis, with profits used to support students and community organizations.

In 2013 a major rehabilitation program was carried out, which included replacing SL28 with higher-yielding new varieties. The main varieties now grown in the area are Batian, Ruiru 11, SL28, and grafted Ruiru 11. Among them, Batian is cultivated and also the most popular variety here. Its root system is very deep with an extensive spread, it resists leaf rust and coffee berry disease, and it achieves higher yields. In these two years Batian has come into production earlier than other varieties, with a large bean, excellent cupping results, and suitability for most farmland. There is also a nursery here that holds 140,000 seedlings, mainly of the above varieties, which are distributed to farmers in other local areas; among them, 760 Ruiru plants have been grafted onto SL28 parent stock.

Harvesting is entirely hand-picked under the supervision of professional teams, ensuring that only the fullest and ripest red cherries are collected. The washed method is used, employing new energy-efficient depulpers that also improve efficiency. After fermentation, the beans are sun-dried to reach standard moisture content. To ensure quality, the laboratory samples and measures at various stages of processing, precisely controlling moisture content, and then evaluates cupping results. The entire farm employs about 100 people, 70% of them women, with good working conditions and welfare and medical insurance provided. Several wild animals inhabit the farm, including antelopes, duikers, monkeys, rabbits, porcupines, bush pigs, and various bird species. Although these animals can cause crop damage, all measures are taken to conserve them, typically by capturing and releasing them into protected areas.

Knowledge Expansion:

Kenya sits geographically very close to Ethiopia and, together with it, is considered one of the birthplaces of humanity.

In Brief:

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research institute, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month we hold three low-discount coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past six years.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kenya's washed coffees are prized for exactly the qualities this Dedan AA TOP shows — clarity, vivid acidity, and a clean fruit core — and FrontStreet Coffee's washed selection is built around that style. For a Kenyan cup with a sharper, juicier edge, the FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato is a standout: grown between 1550 and 1750 meters in the Thika region from SL28 and SL34, given Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation, and lightly roasted to keep its cherry-tomato and dark plum acidity bright and its body full.

If you'd like to compare how washing behaves in another terroir, the FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is the opposite end of the spectrum — the same clean, low-defect character, but expressed as hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel with a balanced, rounded body. Both show why the washed method remains the standard for consistency and purity.