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Is AA Grade Coffee the Best? Kenya Coffee Bean Grading System: Selecting the Finest Quality

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 official account cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Kenya Coffee Bean Grading System. Kenya Coffee Bean Grading Standard. As I mentioned earlier when sharing the 2016 Coffee Review TOP30 list, Kenya has appeared on the list 7 times, and has always been known for its wonderful floral and fruity aromas, pleasant sweetness, and perfectly balanced body

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Kenya Coffee Bean Grading System

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

Kenya Coffee Bean Grading Standards

In the previously shared 2016 Coffee Review TOP30 list, Kenya was mentioned 7 times, and has always been known for its wonderful floral and fruit aromas, pleasant sweetness, and appropriate body thickness, providing people with delightful taste bud surprises time and again. Therefore, Kenya coffee beans entering the market this year are particularly worth paying attention to. So how exactly are Kenya coffee beans graded?

Kenya is a renowned origin that grades coffee beans based on particle size, typically divided into 9 levels. According to bean shape, there is PB (peaberry), which refers to round beans. Peaberry is an independent seed within a single coffee fruit, while regular coffee fruits contain two half-round beans. These round beans are superior in flavor to regular coffee beans. These beans only account for 10% of the total production, so their price is relatively high among Kenyan varieties. However, their flavor is very harmonious and unified, with rich, juicy acidity and sweetness, plus a syrupy texture.

In addition, based on bean size, there are also grades such as E (elephant beans), AA, AB, C, T, TT, MH, and ML. Among these, Kenya PB, AA, and AB are the most common grades found in the coffee bean sales market. Of course, between PB and AA, batches with particularly excellent flavor and few defects are allowed to be marked as AA+ grade, so these grade beans are also worth trying when purchasing. However, grade C and below are usually used as animal feed or fertilizer, having almost no drinking value and do not reach the final consumer market.

In terms of drinking experience, Kenya is my personal favorite single-origin coffee because Kenya is excellent whether it's natural or washed processed beans, especially with light roasting. The dry aroma after grinding simply makes your mouth water—it's a very rich and mellow fragrance, extremely full-bodied. I recommend choosing PB and AA grades, with AA being more popular and considered the mainstream choice, so everyone can pay more attention to bean grades when making future purchases.

Knowledge Point

Most coffee-producing countries' coffee grading systems are not based on a single standard, but rather evaluate bean grades through multiple criteria including defect rate, bean shape and size consistency, and specific altitude requirements.

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three high-discount coffee events every month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to enable more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price—this has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past 6 years!

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