Kenyan Coffee – The Connoisseurs Cup

Kenyan coffee is wet-processed (washed) and once roasted a good Kenya coffee is bright and intense with sweet flavors full of wine-like acidity, complex notes of fruit, and powerful character. This creates well-balanced layers of bright acidity and citrus notes along with spice or chocolate flavors. 

The coffee beans are wet processing with a slow tank fermentation that cleans them from mucilage before running them through the washing channels and onto racks for sun-drying with regular rotation.

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Coffee Varieties

Coffee Plants come in two main varieties:- Arabica and Robusta. Kenya grows mainly Arabica beans.
 

Coffee Research Foundation (now Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, KALRO) currently produces the cultivars (varieties) of Arabica below with SL 28 and 34 considered the best.
 

• SL 34 - Exceptional cup quality but highly susceptible to coffee berry disease. Grows well at higher elevations with ample rainfall

• SL 28 - The most well-regarded varietal of African coffee. Drought tolerant and very good cup quality, but susceptible to coffee berry disease as well as coffee leaf rust. 

• Batian -  A tall variety that combines high yields, tolerance to coffee leaf rust, resistance to coffee berry disease, and good cup quality.

• Ruiru 11 - High yielding variety that grows well at all elevations and is resistant to coffee berry disease as well as coffee leaf rust.

Coffee Grades
 

Kenyan coffee beans are graded which is a measure of the size, weight and shape of the bean producing the grades below. The ranking below is based on size with the larger coffee beans containing more essential oils that enhance the taste and aroma hence are higher in quality.

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• Kenya AA (Kenya's highest grade of coffee - screen 17/18)   

• Kenya AB (screen 15/16)

• Kenya C (screen 14)

• Kenya PB (Peaberry - screen 8-13) 

• Kenya E (Elephant Bean)

• Kenya TT

• Kenya T, and 

• Kenya MH/ML. 

 

We only stock specialty coffee (Kenya AA and AB) but can supply other grades i.e. C, PB, E, TT, MH and ML on demand. 
 

Contact us at coffee@tasteofkenya.org for these inquiries.

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While you wait for our response enjoy one of our favourite Swahili wise sayings.

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