Recommended Kenyan Coffee Brands: Rich Juice-like Qualities of Kenya AA Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee - Kenya Coffee Grading Introduction

Kenyan coffee is grown mainly at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,100 meters, with two harvests each year. Its hallmark is a pronounced fruit aroma, most often citrus. Kenyan coffee delivers layered flavors with juice-like acidity, superb grapefruit and wine notes, and a moderate body.

Screen Size Grading

Screen size grading classifies coffee beans by size. Raw beans are run across iron plates perforated with holes, and the holes they pass through determine their size and therefore their grade. The hole size is measured in units of 1/64 inch (just under 0.4mm), so the screen number tells you how many of those 1/64 inch units the hole spans. A size 17 screen, for instance, is 17/64 inch, roughly 6.75mm, so a larger screen number means a larger bean.

This method exists because larger beans look better and tend to develop more complex, varied flavors than smaller ones. That said, larger does not automatically mean better quality. Ethiopian beans are generally narrow and small, yet their flavors rank among the most memorable and beloved anywhere. In the same way, Yunnan's small-variety beans earn quite high marks on the international market.

Kenya is one of the most representative countries using screen size grading, alongside Tanzania and Colombia. Some countries rely on more than one grading method; the examples here are those that primarily use this approach. Kenya's top grade, AA++, requires screens above size 18, meaning beans larger than 7.15mm. Kenyan grading is detailed and includes grades such as AA++, AA+, AA, and AB. Colombia's system is simpler, dividing beans by size into Supremo (Specialty Grade) and Excelso (Premium Grade). For Supremo, 80% of raw beans must pass screens above size 17; for Excelso, 80% must pass screens above sizes 14/16, with a maximum allowance of about 11% size 14 beans mixed in with size 16 beans.

The screen sizes above apply to flat beans. Peaberries follow their own set of standards, typically graded on screens 8-12.

Knowledge Point: Coffee quality varies with altitude, latitude, and soil chemistry. When coffee is grown outside the optimal range of these factors, the final quality of the cup shifts significantly.

About FrontStreet Coffee

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research center dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation because we want more people to fall in love with coffee. We also hold three low-price coffee events each month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more people to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest prices, and that has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yunnan coffee is also known as Yunnan small-variety coffee, and its beans are even and plump with a rounded, moderate body. Yunnan Typica can be traced back to 1904, when the French missionary Tian Deneng brought coffee seeds of the Typica variety from Vietnam into Yunnan and planted them successfully in Zhugula Village, Binchuan County. That was the beginning of coffee in Yunnan, generally called small-seed coffee and known domestically as Yunnan small-variety coffee. Coffee likes a warm climate and tolerates heat but not cold, and it grows best with ample sunlight at an ideal temperature of 16 to 21°C. This golden growing belt runs around the equator and includes 25°N latitude, and Yunnan sits right on it: most of the province lies at about 1,000 meters, with fertile sloping soils, plenty of sunshine, abundant rainfall, and wide day-to-night temperature swings, all of which favor the trees. Yunnan's coffee is grown mainly across the southwest of the province, including the four major producing areas of Baoshan, Dehong, Pu'er, and Lincang. Two Yunnan specialty coffees on FrontStreet's everyday list come from Baoshan and Lincang.

For an entry-level Chinese Arabica, FrontStreet's Yunnan small-variety coffee is the natural first choice. It comes from the Baoshan region and is washed and medium-roasted, bringing out a touch of caramel while preserving some acidity, so it expresses the terroir of Yunnan clearly; washing removes the pectin layer through fermentation and rinsing before drying, which lets the beans show the region's signature character. If you want a Yunnan coffee with even more definition, choose FrontStreet's 2013 Yunnan sun-dried Typica. Typica is one of the oldest and purest Arabica varieties, and FrontStreet's estate-grown beans use the most traditional post-harvest method of all, natural sun-drying. The result is a heavier body with more pronounced sweet-tart notes, citrus and berry character, a hint of fermented wine, caramel sweetness, and a creamy finish.

To taste Yunnan in an espresso, try FrontStreet's Black Cocoa Blend, a combination of Yunnan small-variety coffee and Brazil Cerrado that many baristas recommend. The Brazilian component supplies mixed-nut aroma and a balanced body, while the Yunnan small-variety plays the role of chocolate and citrus. Pulled as an Americano, the blend balances sweet, sour, and bitter with the mellow fragrance of nuts and brown sugar, and as a latte it brings a smooth, creamy texture with almond notes, making it very approachable for beginners.