Kenya TOP Peaberry PB Nyeri Region Premium Coffee Beans

Product Information

Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Processing Degree: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Kenya
Roast Level: Light roast

Coffee Details

Country: Kenya

Grade: TOP PB

Region: Nyeri

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: SL 28, SL 34

Processing Station: Thagrini Processing Station

Flavor Notes: Black plum, green grapes, cherry tomatoes

Kenya Nyeri Thagrini Peaberry Farm Introduction

Kenya sits in East Africa and ranks among the world's major coffee-producing countries, with roughly six million people working in the coffee industry nationwide, most of them as smallholders or members of cooperatives. Kenyan coffee trees are grown mainly at altitudes between 1,400-2,000 meters, across regions that include Ruiri, Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu and Muranga. The foothills of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdare Range form the heart of this area. Many Kenyan regions work hard to preserve native forest ecosystems, protect natural gene banks, support the propagation of wild coffee varieties and keep a diverse mix of coffee trees alive.

In the early 20th century, French and British missionaries and researchers selected and bred direct descendants of Bourbon in Kenya. Over the past century these plants have adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil, developing the distinctive acidity and aroma that set Kenyan beans apart from the Bourbon beans of Central and South America. The Kenyan native variety itself was created in 1930 by Scott Laboratories, known as SL for short. Agronomists set out to find a Bourbon variety that resisted disease and pests while delivering high yields, and their experiments produced SL28. SL28 is a genetic variant with mixed ancestry from French missionaries, Mocha and Yemeni Typica. The original goal of the breeding work was to mass-produce beans that were both high in quality and resistant to disease. Although SL28's yield later proved lower than hoped, its copper-colored leaves and broad bean shape deliver wonderful sweetness, balance and complex, layered flavors, along with pronounced citrus and black plum characteristics. This important variety introduced the world to the unique Kenyan style: strong, rich fruit acidity, full body and beautiful balance. Kenya AA sits among its ranks.

SL28 is a delicious variety suited to cultivation in mid-to-high altitude areas with limited leaf rust disease, yielding about 1.8 tons of green beans per hectare. Only when you taste its charming berry-like acidity do you truly understand why it is considered Kenya's national treasure.

Region Introduction

This green bean comes from the Thagrini Processing Station in Nyeri, produced by the surrounding family farms. On a 0.5-acre (approximately 2,023 square meters) plot of land, about 250 coffee trees are planted. Nyeri has historically been a classic coffee-producing region in Kenya, backed by Mount Kenya and blessed with an excellent environment for coffee cultivation. About 65% of Kenyan coffee comes from small-scale farmers, while about 35% comes from large farms.

Flavor Profile

Classic Kenyan flavor: rich, full-bodied, with caramel, blackcurrant and apple, clean and with a long aftertaste. A full-bodied tropical fruit and fresh citrus aroma leads into a sweet, fresh taste like having mango, plum and other preserves in your mouth. At medium to low temperatures it releases a refreshing lime fragrance, like drinking iced fruit tea! The cherry tomato note is unmistakable, and the cup is full of the passionate, bold character that defines African beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the cherry tomato note in this Nyeri peaberry is what draws you in, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Cherry Tomato is the natural next cup to try. Kenya is famous for its double washed process, running the beans through a second washing cycle - flotation, washing away the mucilage left on the surface, soaking again, then drying and hulling - to pull the juiciest possible expression out of the fruit. The result is a sweet-and-sour, juicy cup layered with cherry tomato, smoked plum, snow pear, black plum and yellow sugar aromas, a favorite among seasoned coffee drinkers.

Washed lots like this one share a family resemblance across origins. FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Gudingding Cooperative coffee, for example, uses the washed process to bring out jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity, and after a light-medium roast it opens into green tea and honey notes that suit pour-over, cold brew and espresso alike. For a softer, more rounded washed profile, FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 shows how the method protects aroma and keeps defect rates low, pouring a balanced cup of hazelnut, cream, chocolate and caramel with no single note crowding out the rest.