Kenya Coffee Beans Introduction: The Excellent Chemical Reaction Between Kenya Coffee Varieties SL34 and SL28

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FrontStreet Coffee's Introduction to Kenyan Coffee

Coffee industry professionals universally regard Kenyan coffee as one of their favorite products. It possesses wonderful, satisfying aromatics, vibrant uplifting acidity, uniform particles, and excellent fruit flavors.

Kenyan coffee grades are divided into seven levels based on bean size, and further classified into six quality grades from top to bottom based on taste. Kenya's finest coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA++, AA+, AA, AB, and so on. Premium green coffee beans have a bright luster, delicious taste, and a slight wine aroma. In terms of flavor, "Kenyan AA" is particularly well-regarded.

Kenyan coffee has a slightly acidic, dense aroma, with relatively small green beans ranging from green to gray-green. Kenya's coffee beans are wet-processed Arabica varieties, known as (Kenya Arabica), especially in the UK, where Kenyan coffee has surpassed Costa Rican coffee to become one of the most popular coffees.

In Kenya, common varieties include SL28, SL34, French Mission Bourbon, and Ruiru 11.

SL-28 & SL-34

As early as the 1930s, the Kenyan government commissioned Scott Labs to select varieties suitable for the country. After逐一编号筛选, they ultimately obtained SL-28 and SL-34, both originating from Bourbon. SL-34 can grow in slightly lower altitude areas.

The SL28 variety has mixed lineage from French Mission, Mocha, and Yemen Typica. The original goal in developing SL28 was to mass-produce coffee beans that combined high quality with resistance to pests and diseases.

Although SL28's later yields were not as high as expected, its copper-colored leaves and broad bean-shaped coffee beans offer wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex changing flavors, with prominent citrus and dark plum characteristics.

SL34 has similar flavors to SL28, but with complex changing acidity and wonderful sweet finish, while having a heavier, richer, and cleaner mouthfeel than SL28. SL34 has French Mission, Bourbon, and more Typica lineage. Its bean appearance is similar to SL28, but it can better adapt to sudden heavy rains.

It was later proven that the former received quite high ratings, typically having blackcurrant-like acidity and complex flavor expressions; while the latter, though slightly inferior, still has impressive fruit flavors. These two varieties currently account for 90% of Kenya's production, becoming generally recognized representatives of Kenyan coffee.

French Mission

Around 1892-1893, French missionaries brought Bourbon trees to Kenya for cultivation. This original Bourbon tree species is called French Mission Varietal, which avoided scientific improvements during cultivation, preserving Bourbon's most original flavors.

Ruiru 11

Ruiru 11: A hybrid variety developed in Kenya in 1985 that prioritizes yield over quality. It's an Arabica and Robusta hybrid variety, and so far has not been considered specialty coffee. Therefore, many suppliers specializing in fresh roasted specialty coffee, such as Fresh, do not carry these varieties. However, many even imported premium coffee suppliers sometimes mix this hybrid bean into blends to reduce costs. From the above genetic mutants (whether natural or research products), their flavors are greatly related to specific regional conditions.

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