What Are the Characteristics of African Coffee Beans? Kenya Coffee Bean Grades Determine Coffee Quality

FrontStreet Coffee - African Coffee and Kenyan Coffee

African coffee is generally characterized by rich aroma and an appealing fruit acidity. That brightness is lively and refreshing, though the body of African coffee is often on the thin side and sweetness is not always prominent. The reason is partly historical: although much of Africa is arid and short of water, most specialty beans are still washed to protect their quality advantages - lower defect rates and richer floral and fruity aromatics.

Kenyan coffee is a rare fine coffee, renowned for its intense aroma and balanced acidity.

Coffee professionals tend to agree that Kenyan coffee is among their favorite products, because it delivers everything we want from a good cup: a wonderful, satisfying aroma, balanced and delicious acidity, uniform beans and excellent fruit flavor.

Coffee reached Kenya in the 19th century, when Ethiopian coffee drinks were brought in via South Yemen. It was not until the early 20th century, however, that Bourbon coffee trees were introduced by the St. Austin Mission.

Most Kenyan coffee grows at altitudes of 1,500-2,100 meters, with two harvests a year. To ensure only ripe cherries are picked, the fields must be patrolled and inspected roughly 7 times over the course of the season. Kenyan coffee is grown by smallholders, who send their fresh cherries to cooperative washing stations after harvest. The stations then pass the washed and dried coffee on as "parchment coffee" (beans still covered by their endocarp) to the cooperatives - parchment being the final state of the bean before it is hulled. All the coffee is pooled, and growers are paid an average price that reflects the actual quality of what they delivered. This system generally works well and is fair to both growers and consumers.

The Kenyan government takes the coffee industry extremely seriously, and cutting down or destroying coffee trees is illegal. Kenyan coffee is bought by world-class quality buyers, and no other country manages to grow, produce and sell coffee quite the way Kenya does. All beans are first purchased by the Kenyan Coffee Board (CBK), which identifies and grades them before they are sold at weekly auctions; no further grading happens at auction. The Board acts purely as an agent, collecting samples and distributing them to buyers so they can judge price and quality.

The Nairobi auction is held for private exporters, and the Kenyan Coffee Board pays growers prices below market value. The top grade is Peaberry (PB), followed in order by AA++, AA+, AA and AB. Premium Kenyan coffee is glossy, delicious and faintly winey.

Knowledge point: most coffee grows in the equatorial band between 25° north and south latitude. The coffee belt and the country of origin have a huge influence on flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mission

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We hold nothing back, hoping to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month we run three discounted coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more friends to drink the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been our principle for six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is the other great engine of African coffee, and FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the classic introduction to it. This everyday lot shows the signature Yirgacheffe character in its clearest form: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like body - a clean, elegant cup that drinks like lightly iced lemon tea. It is also the most affordable way into Ethiopian specialty coffee.

For a single-station expression of the same region, FrontStreet Gudiding Cooperative comes from a village at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe in the Worka district. Gudiding was originally part of the Worka cooperative within the YCFCU union, and as demand for traceability grew it was recognized as a single origin in its own right; the cooperative has around 300 members and was formally established independently in 2012. Because the pulp is removed before drying, the coffee's own aromatics come through more clearly - citrus and lemon acidity with an elegant white floral note, bright and refined throughout.

If you prefer fruit to florality, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry is a naturally processed Yirgacheffe made from fully ripe, defect-free cherries dried on raised beds, turned every few hours at the start of drying and finished over three to five weeks. It keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while layering on the tropical fruit of the natural process: citrus-like acidity, juicy berry, honeyed sweetness and a creamy body. The flavor notes are peach, cocoa, honey and lemon.