African Coffee Beans Kenya AA Grade Classification Creates Wine-like Characteristics with Acidity and Aroma

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Kenya Coffee Grading

Kenya

Kenya is a major force in the East African coffee region. Whether you judge by cup quality or by business strategy, the country stands out.

The best Kenyan coffee has a clear, bright, uplifting quality that spreads across the whole tongue. The flavors are complex and rich, with very interesting fruit notes of berry and citrus, and sometimes a spice edge as well. Clean and bright, it carries a rare wine-like, grapefruit-like character.

Top Kenyan coffee is usually not simply sold under an AA or AB label. It enters one of Kenya's coffee auctions, where the highest bidder wins. The producing regions place great importance on variety research, cultivation improvements and raising farmers' growing skills.

Each producing region classifies bean grades a little differently. Kenya uses screen size as its standard, combining density and shape to classify coffee. So what are Kenya's grading levels?

Kenya coffee grades run E-PB-AA-AB-C-TT-T-MH/ML.

Kenya E

Screen size 18 and above, called "Elephant Bean." Two seeds joined face to face into one, a mutant bean.

Kenya PB

Also included under Kenya E, commonly known as peaberry.

Kenya AA

Screen size 17-18, grown at 1,400-2,000m of altitude, and the largest size among normal green beans.

Kenya AB

Screen size 15-16, a mix of the A grade (screen 16-17) and the B grade (screen 15-16).

Kenya C

Screen size 14-15, lower in density than grade AB.

Kenya TT

Screen size 15-17, similar in bean size to AA-AB but lower in density.

Kenya T

Screen size below 12: broken, defective or small beans.

Kenya MH/ML

Beans that fell naturally from overripeness before harvest. The heavier ones are graded MH (Mass Heavy) and the lighter ones ML (Mass Light).

Knowledge Point:

After harvest, all Kenyan coffee must be purchased uniformly by the government-established Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK), cupped, and assigned a grade. Grades are distinguished by "bean size," classified according to size, shape and weight.

In Summary:

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to let more friends fall in love with coffee, and we have kept to that for 6 years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To put Kenya's bright, fruit-driven character in the cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Small Tomato is a standout example of the light-roasted style the country is known for. The beans come from Kenya's Thika region, grown at 1550-1750 meters from the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, and they are plump and rounded. Production uses Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation, which fully draws out the fruit while keeping the cup clean, and the light roast preserves the lively acidity and layered flavor.

From the dry aroma you pick up concentrated dried cherry-tomato and floral notes. On the palate the preserved plum and cherry-tomato flavors are clear, with a bright, firm acidity as full as freshly squeezed juice. The middle turns sweet, threaded with the crisp fruit of snow pear and black plum, and the finish is clean and long, with brown-sugar sweetness and a light green-tea note. Sweet and tart stay balanced, and the cup is instantly recognizable.