Flavor Profile of Kenya Washed AA Grade Kirinyaga Region Kabare Koinangui Processing Station Specialty Coffee Beans

Flavor Profile

Intense lemon and plum aromatics, both dry and wet. Light-roasted and cupped, it reveals stunning floral and lemon notes, with a sweet-and-tart juiciness reminiscent of grapefruit green tea and citrus juice. Roasted slightly darker, it develops honey and raspberry black plum, while the finish leaves a delightful sweet-and-tart impression like green tea.

Origin & Processing

This Kenya comes from the Kongyu Processing Station of the Kabare Farmers' Cooperative Society in the Kirinyaga growing region. Processed by the Kenyan double-washed method, it grows on the eastern slopes of Mount Kenya in Mathira-Embu County at altitudes of 1550-1750 meters. The varieties are Kenya's classics, SL28 and SL34. Combined with the marked day-night temperature swing and Kenya's red phosphoric soil, sweet-and-tart notes become the primary flavor foundation of this Kenyan coffee.

The cherries for this batch of Kongyu AA are harvested and processed by 250 smallholder farmers at the Kongyu Processing Station under the Kabare Farmers' Cooperative Society. After pulping, fermenting and washing with water from the nearby Kongyu River, the coffee is placed on African drying beds to dry. Each harvest season, the farmers process nearly 300 tons of cherries. Once processed, the coffee joins the weekly coffee auctions held every Wednesday in Nairobi. Selected by licensed exporters, it is then shipped to consumer markets worldwide.

Tasting Experience

In earlier Kenyan coffees, we especially enjoyed pursuing those sharp, powerful, angular fruit acids. This Kenyan coffee, by contrast, brings a sense of gentleness, like facing the sea with a light breeze blowing.

Product Information

Brand: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Kenya
Coffee Type: Other
Roast Degree: Light roast

Coffee Details

Country: Kenya
Grade: AA
Region: Kirinyaga growing region
Altitude: 1550-1750 meters
Soil: Red phosphoric soil
Processing Method: Kenyan double-washed processing method
Variety: SL 28, SL 34
Processing Station: Kongyu Processing Station
Producer: Kabare Farmers' Cooperative Society
Flavor Notes: Grapefruit green tea, citrus, raspberry black plum

Kenya Coffee Heritage

Located in East Africa, Kenya is one of the major coffee-producing countries, with approximately six million people engaged in the coffee industry nationwide, mostly as smallholders and cooperatives.

Kenya's coffee trees are mostly planted at altitudes of 1400-2000 meters. Growing regions include Ruiri, Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu and Muranga, primarily on the foothills of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare range.

Many growing regions in Kenya strive to preserve native forest ecosystems, protect natural gene banks, support the propagation of wild coffee varieties and nurture diverse coffee trees.

In 1930, Kenya's distinctive varieties SL28 and SL34, cultivated and named by the "Scott Laboratories" lab, were born in just such a favorable environment.

According to SL laboratory botanists, SL28 and SL34 are genetic variants. SL28 carries mixed lineage from French Mission, Mocha and Yemen Typica. The original goal of cultivating SL28 was to mass-produce coffee beans that combined high quality with resistance to pests and diseases.

Although SL28's later yields were not as massive as expected, its copper-colored leaves and broad bean shape produce wonderful sweetness, balance and complexly changing flavors, along with prominent citrus and black plum. SL34 has similar flavors to SL28, but besides its complexly changing acidity and wonderful sweet finish, its body is heavier, richer and cleaner than SL28. SL34 carries French Mission, Bourbon and more Typica lineage. Its bean appearance resembles SL28, but it adapts better to sudden heavy rain. It is these two important varieties that lead us to understand the distinctive Kenyan style: intensely rich fruit acidity, rich body and beautiful balance.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kenya's double-washed coffees are loved for exactly the clean, juicy, sweet-and-tart cup described here, and FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato is our benchmark expression of that style. Grown in the Thika and Nyeri areas at 1550-1750 meters from SL28 and SL34 and processed with a 72-hour double wash, it delivers cherry tomato, smoked plum, snow pear and black plum over a bright, mouthwatering acidity. It is a light roast that shines as pour-over and stays refreshing over ice.