Does Kenya Have Sun-Dried Coffee Beans? Brewing Flavor Performance of Sun-Dried Kenyan Coffee Beans

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The Surprise of Natural Process Kenyan Coffee

"What! Kenya actually has natural process coffee beans?" This was the first reaction of many people when FrontStreet Coffee brought out this FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Endebess Estate Natural Micro-lot coffee bean. The Kenyan coffee we typically see is mostly processed using the 72-hour fermentation washed method, which has created the misconception that "Kenyan coffee beans only come in washed process."

FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Endebess Estate Natural Micro-lot Coffee Beans

Region: Northern Great Rift Valley

Altitude: 1750-1950m

Processing Method: Natural Process

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Grade: AA

The estate is located in the northern Rift Valley of Kenya, near the town of Kitale in Nzoiya County. Endebess Estate has approximately 758 hectares of land, of which 248 hectares are used for coffee cultivation.

In 2011, it was transferred again to its current owner, Kaitet Tea Plantations.

After the current owner took over, greater emphasis was placed on employee welfare and social responsibility. Since 2011, the estate has helped renovate over 15 houses and sponsored two high school students to receive better education. Starting from 2012, the estate has continuously improved its infrastructure, resulting in increasingly better coffee quality. The owner plans to expand social responsibility initiatives as profits increase.

Coffee Varieties

SL28 & SL34

Between 1935-1939, Scott Laboratories prefixed all selected and bred coffee varieties with "SL". The laboratory selected 42 varieties from different origins and studied their yield, quality, drought resistance, and disease resistance. After numbering and screening them one by one, SL-28 and SL-34 were finally selected. Relatively speaking, SL-28 gained higher reputation, while SL-34 is more productive and has slightly lower altitude requirements.

SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group and has drought resistance, but poor resistance to coffee leaf rust. SL28 beans are similar to Bourbon varieties - round and full-bodied. SL34 is genetically closer to Typica, with bean appearance more similar to Typica's elongated, oval characteristics. From the side, SL34 beans appear flatter than Typica varieties and less full.

Flavor Differences Between SL28 & SL34

FrontStreet Coffee, through differentiation and individual cupping, believes that SL28 and SL34 varieties have similar flavors - both with complex and varied berry-like acidity and caramel sweet aftertaste.

If we really must distinguish, SL34 has a heavier body, with acidity leaning toward full blackberry juice, balanced overall sweetness and acidity, with a caramel aftertaste. SL28 leans more toward blueberry juice acidity, with slightly elevated overall acidity, higher sweetness, displaying the high-sweetness characteristic of Bourbon varieties.

Natural Processing Method

Natural

This batch of FrontStreet Coffee Kenya natural process beans that FrontStreet Coffee acquired is fully washed using water from the Koitobos River at Endebess Estate, then dried on raised beds. Depending on weather conditions, it usually takes 21 to 28 days to dry. During the drying process, coffee beans are turned at least four times daily to ensure even drying of the coffee cherries. When the moisture content of the coffee cherries drops to 10-12%, machines are used to remove the fruit skin and pulp before storage.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

Preheat the drum to 180°C, charge the beans with heat at 130 and damper at 3. Return temperature at 1'42", when the drum temperature reaches 140°C, open the damper to 4. When the drum temperature reaches 146°C, the bean surface turns yellow and the grassy aroma completely disappears. When the drum temperature reaches 166°C, reduce the heat to 100, keeping the damper unchanged.

At 7'25", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread aroma clearly transforms into coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'20", first crack begins, reduce heat to 70, keep the damper unchanged. Develop for 1'45" after first crack, then discharge at 194°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

Dry Aroma: Cherry tomato

Wet Aroma: Caramel

Flavor: Cherry tomato, smoked plum, lemon, caramel, cream, black tea

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Experience

FrontStreet Coffee found through cupping that this FrontStreet Coffee natural process Kenyan has a fuller and more substantial body than FrontStreet Coffee's washed Kenyan. Therefore, when brewing this FrontStreet Coffee natural process Kenyan, the grind size can be slightly coarser, similar to the size of coarse sugar, which will result in coffee with more layers and complexity.

Dripper: Hario V60
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind: Medium-fine (72% retention rate on #20 standard sieve)
Water Temperature: 90°C

First, pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom. For the second pour, inject 125g of water in small circles at the center, with gentle pouring force to minimize agitation of the coffee bed, with flow rate at 4g per second. When the water level drops to half the height of the coffee bed, begin the third pour. This pour should also be gentle, starting from the center and spiraling outward until reaching 225g. End extraction when all coffee liquid has dripped through the filter, with a total time of 1'54". After extraction is complete, gently swirl to ensure the coffee is well mixed before tasting.

Brewing Flavor of [FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Endebess Estate Natural Process Coffee Beans]

At high temperature, it has a caramel aroma, with cherry tomato juice-like quality and smoked plum acidity. As the temperature slightly decreases, lemon acidity and creamy smoothness emerge, with a black tea-like aftertaste and noticeable overall sweet aftertaste.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473