Introduction to Kenyan Coffee Origins: Kenya's Coffee Grading System Ensures Quality

FrontStreet Coffee - An Introduction to Kenya Coffee

Kenya Coffee Growing Regions

Kenya's coffee growing regions are best known for seven main areas: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, Ruiri and Muranga. Of these, the foothills of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range are the primary growing zones.

Kenya Coffee Grading

Kenyan beans are graded strictly, mainly on size, shape and hardness. From highest to lowest the classes run AA or AA+, AB, PB, C, E, TT and T. The grade is a useful starting point when choosing a coffee, though flavor should always be the final reference.

Coffee Size Grading

AA is a grade name for green coffee that refers primarily to bean size. AA means larger beans - green coffee with a screen size above 17 mesh (17 mesh equals a sieve aperture of 6.75 mm). AA covers 17 and 18 mesh, while AB covers 15 and 16 mesh.

AA Plus (AA+): AA grade with particularly excellent cup quality (flavor and mouthfeel).

AA screen size: 17-18

AB screen size: 15-16, accounting for the majority of production

C screen size: smaller than AB

TT: lighter-weight beans blown out of AA and AB grade lots by air separators

T: lighter-weight beans blown out of C grade lots by air separators

E (Elephant Bean): large mutant beans formed when two beans fuse together, also known as elephant ear beans

UG: beans that fail to meet the standards above

PB: peaberry, classified by shape and unrelated to flavor or weight

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A strict grading system only means something if the coffee behind it delivers, which is why we like to point newcomers toward beans whose station or cooperative is easy to trace. FrontStreet Gudiding Cooperative is a washed Ethiopian coffee from a single village team at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe in the Worka district. Once part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU union, it was later recognized as a single origin in its own right as buyers pushed for traceability, and the traditional washed method strips the pulp before drying so the coffee's own aromatics come through clearly - jasmine florals, lemon acidity and a berry note, all remarkably clean.

If you prefer the fruit-forward side of African coffee, FrontStreet Huakui is a naturally processed Sidamo lot. Traditional sun-drying gives it the tropical, fermented character the region is known for: berries, florals, jackfruit, melon and honey.