Recommended Kenyan Coffee Bean Brands: Understanding Kenya AA Grade Classification as Quality Assurance

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FrontStreet Coffee's Introduction to Kenyan Coffee

Typically, Kenyan coffee is classified as follows:

Common Classifications

Hand-picked coffee cherries are manually sorted to remove defects such as unripe and overripe beans. After pulping, they undergo approximately 36 hours of fermentation, then are sun-dried on metal mesh racks. At the processing plant, the parchment is removed, creating the attractive blue-green appearance of Kenyan green beans.

These beautiful green beans are graded according to size, shape, and weight:

E: Kenya E, Elephant Bean, 18 screen or larger (including peaberries). Contains large round beans, similar to PB, but in smaller quantities.

AA: Kenya AA, 17-18 screen.

AB: Kenya AB, 15-16 screen, a mix of A and B grades.

17 screen (6.8mm) and above is Grade A, 16 screen (6.3mm) and above is Grade B.

TT: Light beans separated from AA and AB through air classifiers.

PB: Kenya PB, 15 screen and above, round peaberry, accounting for approximately 10% of Kenyan coffee.

C: 12-14 screen, and light beans from PB separated through air classifiers.

T: Below 12 screen, containing many defective beans, broken beans, and light beans.

HE: Beans outside the above grades become HE (Hulled Ears).

Ungraded Beans

Green beans that have not undergone official standard grading are classified as UG (ungraded).

E, AA, AB, PB → UG1

C, TT, T, HE → UG2

MBUNI (Natural Process, Non-Washed)

All green beans undergo gravity separation.

MH: Heavy mbuni, heavy beans, yellow color, no black beans, broken pieces, dried fruit, or other defects. Cupping shows typical natural flavor characteristics without taste defects.

ML: Light mbuni, yellow-green color, with少量 insect-damaged or black beans, no stinkers or broken pieces. No earthy or other bad flavors in cupping.

Knowledge Point: Coffee roasting is a process that triggers Maillard reactions and caramelization within green beans, producing more wonderful flavors.

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research workshop that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation, aiming to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Each month, we hold three coffee events with significant discounts because FrontStreet Coffee wants to offer the best coffee at the lowest prices to more friends. This has been our mission for the past six years!

Important Notice :

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