How is African Coffee? Introduction to Flavor Characteristics of Kenya AA Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee — Kenya Kirinyaga AA+

Kenya is one of East Africa's most renowned coffee origins and an important source of specialty coffee worldwide. Its growing regions include Nyeri, Ruiru, Thika, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Murang'a, and the western slopes of Mount Kenya, at elevations ranging from 1,400m to 2,100m. Kenyan coffee is all Arabica, with SL28, SL34, K7, and Ruiru 11 as the leading varieties. The country enjoys two harvests: a main crop from October to December and a fly crop from May to June.

Kenyan coffee is processed almost entirely by the washed method, with the occasional natural. Beans are graded by size, shape, and density into categories such as PB, AA++, AA+, AA, and AB.

Kenya Kirinyaga AA+

Origin: Kenya

Region: Kirinyaga / Guma

Process: Washed

Altitude: 1,628m

Species: Arabica

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Grade: AA+

Flavor Notes: blackberry, cherry tomato, honey

African Coffee at Its Finest

What makes washed Kenyan coffee so distinctive is the country's mastery of the washing process. Kenyan mills often run the beans through a second wash — floating, soaking, washing off the residual mucilage, soaking again, then drying, hulling, and storing — a thorough regimen that strips away impurities and lets the fruit character shine through in the cup.

The result is the classic Kenyan profile: vivid, juice-like acidity, dense sweetness, and remarkable clarity. Blackberry and currant notes are the hallmarks of SL28 and SL34 grown on the red volcanic soils around Mount Kenya, and the honeyed cherry-tomato tang of this Kirinyaga AA+ is a textbook example.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For a kindred spirit to this Kirinyaga AA+, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya "Little Tomato" is one of the best-known washed Kenyan coffees around. Using Kenya's signature double-washed process — repeated rounds of floating, soaking, washing, and drying — it draws out an extreme juiciness in the cup.

Expect layers of cherry tomato, smoked plum, snow pear, black plum, and golden sugar — tart, sweet, and succulent, the style Kenyan coffee devotees keep coming back for.