Introduction to Six Major Coffee Growing Regions in African Kenya, Kenyan Coffee Varieties & 72-Hour Washed Process

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The bright fruit acidity of Kenyan coffee, with its vibrant, full-bodied, and outstanding taste, leaves an unforgettable impression on those who have tried it. FrontStreet Coffee has cupped many coffee beans from different regions in Kenya. If high acidity is the soul of good coffee, then Kenyan coffee must be the representative of this soul! Kenyan coffee beans have another special characteristic: most coffee beans with bright acidity typically don't have a thick mouthfeel. For example, Ethiopian beans give a clean, refreshing sensation in the mouth, while Kenyan coffee provides a berry juice sensation that envelops the entire palate, similar to tomato juice.

Kenya Introduction

Located in eastern Africa, the equator crosses through the central part, with the East African Rift Valley running north-south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, with the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The country is mostly plateau with an average elevation of 1,500 meters. Mount Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya) in central region reaches 5,199 meters, with snow on its summit, making it the second-highest peak in Africa.

Kenya belongs to tropical producing regions with two rainy seasons annually, allowing for two harvests. 60% is concentrated from October to December, with the remaining 40% from June to August. Coffee is mainly grown in volcanic areas at elevations of 1,600-2,100 meters around the capital Nairobi to the Kenya mountain region. This altitude is suitable for flavor development in coffee beans because the mountainous temperatures are lower, growth is slower, allowing the aromatic components of coffee beans to fully develop, fruit acidity becomes more pronounced, and the texture is harder. This crescent-shaped fertile soil coffee region is the main source of Kenya's specialty beans.

Kenyan Coffee Regions

Kenyan coffee regions consist of six major producing areas, including: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga. The harvest periods for these six major regions are October-December (main season) and June-August (secondary season) throughout the year.

Thika

Thika is a small town located near Kenya's capital Nairobi. There are many coffee fields around Nairobi, and while Thika is an industrial town, it is surrounded by agriculture and waterfalls. The Thika region has approximately 2,000 farmers. The cultivation history of Kenyan Thika coffee traces back to the late 19th century, when coffee varieties were introduced from the northern neighboring country Ethiopia. After their own variety improvements, common varieties now include Bourbon, Kents (SL34, SL28), Typica, and Riuri 11. Currently, about 90% of coffee varieties planted are SL34 and SL28. The new variety Batian, released in 2007, has not yet been widely cultivated. The flavor profile of this region features bright fruit acidity, thick berry juice sensation, and honey-like sweetness.

Elevation: 1,550-1,750 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34

Kirinyaga

The Kirinyaga region is situated on the slopes of Mount Kenya, adjacent to the Nyeri region, known worldwide for coffee with intense flavor, rich layers, and solid mouthfeel. Together with the Nyeri region, it is recognized as one of Kenya's two most excellent regions. Most producers in this area are small-scale coffee farmers who have joined cooperatives, which play a coordinating role by providing washing stations where coffee farmers send their coffee cherries for processing. The flavor profile of this region features bright fruit acidity, with moderate oiliness and delicate sweetness.

Elevation: 1,300-1,900 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru11, Batian

Mt. Kenya West

Mt. Kenya West includes Kisii and the Bungoma area of Mount Elgon. The Kisii area is located in southwestern Kenya, not far from Lake Victoria, and is a relatively small producing region where most coffee beans come from common cooperatives formed by small producers. The coffee flavor in this region is quite different from the central regions, featuring roasted nuts and gentle fruit acidity, widely favored by buyers who dislike bright acidity.

Elevation: 1,450-1,800 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, K7

Nyeri

Located in central Kenya, Nyeri is home to the extinct volcano Mount Kenya. The red soil in this region nurtures Kenya's finest coffee. Agriculture is extremely important here, with coffee being the main crop. Common cooperatives formed by small farmers are more prevalent than large estates. This region has two harvests, but coffee from the main season is typically of higher quality. This region features bright berry juice sensation, with citrus and subtle floral notes. The coffee beans grown here have made Kenyan coffee renowned worldwide.

Elevation: 1,200-2,300 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruriu11, Batian

Kiambu

This region in central Kenya has the highest elevation coffee growing areas within the district. However, some coffee trees at high altitudes suffer from dieback disease, causing them to stop growing. This region is named after Nakuru town. Coffee cultivation here takes both estate and small farmer forms, though production is relatively small.

Elevation: 1,850-2,200 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru11, Batian

Muranga

The Muranga region belongs to the Central Province, with approximately 100,000 coffee farmers in this area. This inland region was one of the first settlement areas chosen by missionaries because the Portuguese prohibited them from living in coastal areas. This is another region benefiting from volcanic soil, with more small coffee farmers than estates. The coffee from this region features bright acidity and thick juice sensation.

Elevation: 1,350-1,950 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru11, Batian

Coffee Varieties

SL-28 and SL-34. These are two of the 40 varieties developed from a research program led by Guy Gibson at Scott Laboratories, which were cultivated and named in the 1930s. According to SL laboratory botanists, SL28 and SL34 are genetic variants. They constitute the majority of Kenya's high-quality coffee production, though these varieties are susceptible to leaf rust disease. SL34 has French Mission, Bourbon, and more Typica lineage. The copper-colored leaves and broad bean-shaped beans have wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex flavors, with prominent citrus and black plum characteristics.

Ruiru 11: In 1985, during the global rust outbreak, Kenya developed this hybrid variety focusing on yield over quality. However, its flavor quality is far inferior to the previous SL28 and SL34, and it hasn't gained traction in the specialty coffee industry. Nevertheless, many suppliers, even those importing premium coffee, mix this hybrid bean into blends to reduce costs.

Coffee Processing Method - Kenya 72-Hour Washed

Kenya employs a repeated washing and fermentation processing method after fermentation. Processing begins on the day of harvest, selecting the highest quality coffee cherries for pulping and fermentation. The fermentation time is 24 hours, after which the beans are washed with clean river water. Then, they undergo another 24-hour fermentation in clean river water, followed by washing again. After repeating this cycle 3 times to reach 72 hours, it's called the Kenyan 72-hour fermentation washed processing method, abbreviated as [K72].

First Wash and Fermentation

After coffee cherries are harvested, they undergo water density sorting. The principle is to use the density and quality differences of the coffee fruit itself for screening; high-density (heavy) coffee beans will sink in water, while low-density beans will float. Fully ripe, high-quality coffee fruits have high density, and they are selected for further processing.

After selecting high-quality and sufficiently ripe fruits, the skin is removed for washed soaking, allowing the mucilage attached to the outer layer of the raw beans to ferment. The mucilage contains natural sugars and alcohols, which play a crucial role in developing the coffee's sweetness, acidity, and overall flavor. The fermentation time lasts up to 24 hours, after which 80-90% of the mucilage is removed, leaving only the flavor within the coffee beans.

Second Wash and Fermentation

Next enters the second wash and fermentation process. After cleaning the coffee beans from the previous stage, they are soaked again in water for 24-48 hours. This process increases proteins and amino acids, creating complex and delicate layers in the coffee's acidity. Finally, all remaining mucilage is removed, and the coffee beans are moved to raised racks for sun drying.

The fermentation time lasts up to 24 hours, after which 80-90% of the mucilage is removed, leaving only the flavor within the coffee beans. Finally, all remaining mucilage is removed, and the coffee beans are moved to raised racks for sun drying. The drying time depends on weather conditions, generally taking about 5-10 days to complete.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee beans processed with the Kenyan 72-hour fermentation washed method, which undergo long-term fermentation at low temperatures and are completed only after sun drying dehydration, result in beans with brighter, cleaner, yet fuller flavors.

Coffee Bean Grading System (by Size)

AA Plus (AA+): Exceptionally excellent AA grade in cup quality (flavor, mouthfeel).

AA: Size (Screen Size) 17-18 mesh.

AB: Size (Screen Size) 15-16 mesh, accounting for the majority of production.

C: Size (Screen Size) smaller than AB.

TT: Lighter weight beans blown out by air classifiers from AA and AB grade beans.

T: Lighter weight beans blown out by air classifiers from C grade beans.

E Elephant Bean: Large mutant beans where two beans merge, also called elephant ear beans.

PB Peaberry: Classified by shape, unrelated to flavor or weight.

For AA and AB grade coffee raw beans, special grading based on cupping results has been added (not officially recognized by Kenya, established by exporters), ranked from high to low as TOP, PLUS (+), FAQ. The Kenya Asalia flavor grade on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list reaches TOP grade. However, as mentioned earlier, this is not an officially recognized grading system. Not all Kenyan regional coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee procures carry flavor grades, so there's no need to be overly concerned about this. Generally, once beans reach AA and AB grades, their flavor is already considered very high quality by default.

The Kenya Asalia offered by FrontStreet Coffee comes from AA grade coffee beans in the Thika region. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss how we roast this bean and how we brew it to see its flavor performance.

Region: Kenya Thika

Processing Station: Asali Honey Processing Station

Elevation: 1,550-1,750 meters

Grade: AA TOP

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Processing Method: Kenyan 72-hour washed

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

When FrontStreet Coffee roasts this Kenyan coffee bean, considering the need to highlight its rich fruit acidity and full berry juice mouthfeel, we adopted a medium-light roast.

Machine: Yangjia 800N, with 550g raw beans

Bean entry temperature: 200°C

First crack: 5'30", 154.3°C

2'10" development after first crack, discharged at 191.6°C

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee considers that this bean uses a medium-light roasting method, so we will use higher water temperature and a faster flow rate dripper. This is mainly because we need to extract its bright acidic character with high temperature, but we don't want to cause over-extraction due to high temperature, so we chose the faster flow V60 dripper.

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, 15g coffee to 225ml water

Water temperature: 90°C-91°C

Grind size: Fine sugar size (80% passing through No. 20 standard sieve)

First pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g more (electronic scale shows around 125g), completing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (electronic scale shows around 225g), completing in about 1 minute 40 seconds. Complete extraction at 2'00", remove the dripper.

Brewing flavor: Entry has black plum and cherry tomato flavors, with strong and thick acidity in the mouthfeel. The middle section features prominent sweetness with a juice sensation. The aftertaste has berry aroma and brown sugar sweetness, with green tea fragrance.

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