Flavor Characteristics of Kenyan Coffee - Kenyan Coffee Bean Processing Methods - Kenyan Coffee Trading Models

Kenyan coffee has long been cherished by many in the specialty coffee world, but what makes Kenyan coffee distinctive? How do processing methods and unique varieties influence the flavors we experience?

Flavor Characteristics of Kenyan Coffee

Kenyan coffee boasts complex flavors with fruity notes, bright acidity, full body, and unique aromas. These distinctive flavor characteristics are what make many people fall in love with it.

Kenya has numerous coffee-growing regions and coffee varieties. The coffee-growing areas in Kenya are characterized by high altitudes, stable rainfall, and excellent soil quality. There are several major regions: Central Kenya (around Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range), Western Kenya (Kisii, Nyanza, and Bungoma), the East African Rift Valley (Nakuru and Kericho), Eastern Kenya (Machakos, Embu, and Meru), and coastal areas (Taita Hills). Each region has unique climate and coffee-growing conditions, with further subdivisions into micro-regions, all contributing to subtle differences in coffee flavor.

Additionally, Kenya has diverse coffee varieties, with SL28 and SL34 being particularly special varieties that are rarely found in other coffee-producing countries. These varieties grown in high-altitude regions produce coffee with complex aromas. You might also have heard of the K7 variety, which is grown at lower altitudes and is more drought-resistant due to its deeper root system. There are also Batian and R11 varieties, both bred in laboratories to resist coffee-related diseases.

Beyond specific regions and varieties, you may have heard about Kenya's coffee grading system, which classifies beans by size, shape, and quality into categories such as AA, AB, PB, C, E, and TT. These names have specific meanings: AA/AB/C represent different sizes of coffee beans, PB stands for peaberries (when a coffee cherry contains only one seed), E represents elephant beans (extra-large beans), and TT represents low-density beans (inferior quality).

This grading system helps ensure coffee consistency, making it possible for entire bags to maintain uniform flavor characteristics.

Consistency Through Teamwork

Kenya has over 700,000 coffee producers, most of whom prefer fully manual operations—from harvesting coffee cherries, drying, processing, to grading, everything is done by hand. Most farms plant approximately 1,320 coffee trees per hectare.

Kenyan coffee is harvested twice a year. The first harvest typically occurs between April and June, sometimes extending into July. The second harvest takes place from October to December, sometimes extending into January of the following year. The exact start and end times of harvest periods depend on the region, that year's weather conditions, and farm altitude. With two harvests per year, producers remain busy throughout the year.

Most Kenyan coffee growers are family businesses. You might hear locals refer to themselves as "children of coffee"—coffee is their parent, and other producers are their brothers and sisters. Most Kenyan farmers work in cooperatives, which enhances the consistency of coffee quality.

Washed vs. Natural Processing Methods

Careful control of processing procedures further ensures coffee quality and stability. The 12 cooperatives of FTOK (distributed across central and eastern regions) have fully established coffee production systems.

Every Tuesday, farmers deliver coffee cherries to the cooperatives, where the pulp is removed. This begins a 72-hour fermentation process, after which the raw coffee beans are dried. This batch processing approach helps achieve more stable flavor characteristics in the final coffee.

Washed processing is very common in Kenya, but you can still find naturally processed coffee in some regions. Generally, Kenyan naturals are used for MH and ML grade classifications, tending to be lower quality or underripe coffee.

Planned natural processing can be more expensive than washed coffee because properly cared-for natural processing carries greater risk of failure for farmers, and requires significant time and labor investment to harvest high-quality natural beans.

Kenyan Coffee Trading Model

Unlike many producing countries in the Americas and Asia, the Kenyan government controls a certain portion of the coffee trade. Under the supervision of the government-run Kenyan Coffee Board, most coffee beans are bought and sold through central auctions.

These laws are generally farmer-friendly, but it can be challenging for farmers who want to sell coffee beans independently. Farmers might be "excluded" from the supply chain, and the subsequent transportation and trade administrative work must be handled by both buyer and seller themselves.

Some producers feel they don't receive fair acquisition prices in this system. To them, it seems like too many intermediaries are involved in the supply chain, and farmers don't fully trust that downstream parties accurately convey their coffee's unique selling points to buyers, even suspecting middlemen of misrepresenting actual purchase prices.

Kenyan producers have great passion for coffee, after all, they consider themselves children of coffee. However, the aforementioned low compensation and poor management can turn this passion into disappointment.

In recent years, negative feedback about central auctions has prompted the government to relax restrictions on direct trade. This has made it easier for farmers to directly sell and export the coffee they produce. The next challenge is helping farmers obtain better purchase prices and improving supply chain transparency.

Kenya Asali

"Asali" means "honey" in Kiswahili, named for its rich and outstanding sweetness. This batch is a blend of AA grade, with half coming from two different processing plants, creating excellent complexity and balance.

■ Country: Kenya

■ Region: Thika

■ Altitude: 1500-1750m

■ Varieties: SL-28, SL-34

■ Processing Plant: Asali Honey Processing Plant

■ Processing Method: Kenyan refined 72-hour washed (K72)

FrontStreet Coffee's Asali offers wet aromas of ripe tomato and floral notes. When hot, it reveals sweetness of caramel and brown sugar. As the temperature slightly decreases, notes of cherry tomatoes and plum acidity emerge. The coffee has bright acidity, clean mouthfeel, prominent final sweetness, with a juice-like quality.

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