What Do "AA" and "TOP" Mean for Kenyan Coffee Beans?

Kenyan coffee has long been globally renowned for its distinctive, complex berry-like aromas, refreshing sugarcane sweetness, and juice-like acidity, and it is beloved by coffee enthusiasts worldwide. When buying Kenyan beans, though, you will notice that most of the coffee exported from Kenya carries designations like "AA" - such as FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Asalia AA TOP. So what do the "AA" and "TOP" after the beans actually mean?

First, the "AA" after the beans refers to the grade of the coffee. Coffee is an agricultural product, so its quality varies. Every producing country establishes its own classification system based on local conditions. The purpose is to produce homogeneous commercial batches that meet established quality standards, which in turn supports a fair pricing system.

The Kenyan government established an auction system in 1934 to tie coffee quality closely to price. Every year, thousands of Kenyan smallholders consolidate their coffee through cooperatives and send it to the central auction house in Nairobi. These beans go through a strict grading process before auction.

Whether sold domestically or internationally, the same grading system applies. Beans are rated according to size, shape, color, and density, using size and quality as the general indicators. The classifications are clear: AA, AB, PB, C, E, TT, and T. This strict grading safeguards bean quality.

AA grade beans measure 17-18 screen size and have excellent density. They are recognized as the highest quality locally and offer an elegant mouthfeel and flavor.

AB grade beans measure 16-17 screen size. Though not as high quality as AA, they are more affordably priced and equally popular, making up the largest share of production at approximately 40% of Kenyan coffee.

PB refers to round-shaped green beans - single round beans from a coffee cherry rather than the usual two flat beans. Only 5% of Kenyan coffee is this round shape. It is classified by appearance and has no relation to flavor or weight.

C grade beans measure 12-14 screen size and are smaller in dimension. Beans of this grade generally do not qualify as specialty grade.

E grade beans, whose full name is Elephant (also known as elephant beans), resemble round beans: specialty beans with a developmental abnormality. They form when two coffee beans intertwine as they develop, appearing to be one very large bean. They measure over 21 screen size and are extremely rare.

TT grade beans are lightweight beans classified out of E, AA, and AB beans using air screeners, yielding beans measuring 16-20 screen size.

T grade beans are broken, defective, and overly small beans classified out of C grade beans, generally measuring below 12 screen size.

MH/ML grade beans are lower quality beans, primarily processed using natural methods and sold only domestically, never exported.

In Kenyan grading, therefore, "AA" represents the highest local grade. The size of a bean does not directly determine its taste quality, though - the growing environment is the primary flavor influence during development. Because of this, local coffee research institutions and green coffee traders use their own grading system for a secondary assessment of exported coffee.

That system is called the Coffee Bean Quality Grading Procedure (Kenyan Classification Procedure by Quality Assessment), established by the Kenyan Coffee Research Foundation. "TOP," "Plus (+)," and "FAQ" are secondary assessment markers, usually placed after the original grade and generally assigned according to cupping scores.

TOP beans score above 86 points, Plus (+) beans score 84-86 points, and FAQ beans score around 83-84 points. This system is not officially certified by Kenya, however, so most Kenyan beans on the market today still use the conventional size-based grading.

Current Kenyan Coffee Grading Standards

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, the Kenyan Coffee Research Foundation and local industry commonly apply the Coffee Bean Quality Grading Procedure when assessing coffee quality, based on three comprehensive aspects: green bean quality, roasted bean quality, and cupping quality.

Green Bean Quality

Assessment criteria include green bean appearance and size, green bean color, and defects.

Roasted Bean Quality

Assessment includes center crack condition, roasted bean condition, and defective beans.

Cupping Quality

Scoring is based on acidity, body/texture, flavor, and negative defects.

Combining the scores from these three aspects, beans are classified into grades 1-10, with grade 1 the best and grade 10 the worst.

As the above shows, the difference between AA, AB, and PB beans lies only in size. Generally speaking, though, larger screen size beans have lower defect rates, giving cleaner flavors and naturally higher prices.

FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Small Tomato Coffee Beans

Country: Kenya

Region: Asali (Honey Processing Station)

Altitude: 1550-1750m

Variety: SL28, SL34

Processing: 72-hour washed processing

Flavor: Snow pear, black plum, brown sugar, cherry tomato, plum

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

Because this bean is roasted medium-light, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a higher water temperature and a fast-flowing dripper. The heat draws out its bright acidity, while the fast V60 dripper avoids the over-extraction that a high temperature can otherwise cause.

Powder-to-water ratio: 1:15

Coffee powder: 15g

Total water injection: 225ml

Water temperature: 91°C

Grind size: Coarse sugar granularity | EK43s setting 10 (80% pass-through rate through a #20 standard sieve)

For the brewing process: first inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then inject 95g (the scale reads approximately 125g), finishing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, inject the remaining 100g (the scale reads approximately 225g), finishing in about 1 minute 40 seconds. The drip finishes at 2'00"; remove the dripper to complete extraction.

Brewing Flavor: The first sip reveals black plum and cherry tomato, with a strong, solid acidity in the mouthfeel. The middle shows prominent sweetness with a juicy sensation, while the afternote brings berry fruit aroma and brown sugar sweetness, accompanied by a green tea fragrance.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For anyone drawn in by the grading discussion above, FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato is a fine illustration of what a well-sorted Kenyan washed coffee can do. Grown in the Thika region at 1550-1750 meters from the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, and processed with Kenya's distinctive 72-hour double washed fermentation, it builds up complex berry aromatics that a light roast turns into vivid flavor. Expect bright, solid acidity with cherry tomato and smoked plum, mid-palate sweetness with fresh pear and black plum, and a clean, long finish of brown sugar and light green tea.

If you also enjoy the floral side of light-roasted African coffee, FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui is a good contrast. Grown in the Hambella area of Guji Sidamo, it leans toward tropical fruit - strawberry, passion fruit, and jackfruit - with pronounced sweetness, very low bitterness, and a smooth, juicy body. Tasting the two side by side makes the difference between Kenya's bold, structured acidity and Ethiopia's softer, fruit-forward sweetness easy to appreciate.