KENYAN COFFEE
PROCESSING: Mostly washed
HARVEST PERIOD: December – April
ARRIVAL PERIOD: April-August
ANNUAL COFFEE PRODUCTION: Approx. – 1 Million Bags
Varietals Region –
Kenyan coffees have a unique flavor profile – the best offer bright citric acidity combined with floral or blackcurrant flavors and a velvety body. And not to forget, the coffee system in Kenya allows for unparalleled discovery of quality in individual coffee lots.
Cupping Characteristics
Kenyan coffees have a unique flavor profile – the best offer bright citric acidity combined with floral or blackcurrant flavors and a velvety body. And not to forget, the coffee system in Kenya allows for unparalleled discovery of quality in individual coffee lots.
Overview
Kenya occupies a special place in the heart of gourmet coffee lovers the world over. Single origin ‘Kenya AA’ is a must-have for most specialty stores. Straddling the equator, the production areas benefit from high altitudes and rich volcanic soils, and are blessed with a coffee culture and system which promotes and rewards quality.
Production
Kenya produces only Arabica coffee, mainly from the Bourbon and Kent varieties (traditional
SL28 / 34 and K7) but increasingly also from a recently developed hybrid R11 and the very newest variety, Batian. Research into new, higher-yielding, disease-resistant, excellent cupping varieties is continuous at the well-established Coffee Research Foundation premises near Nairobi. The production area lies between 1,200 and 1,800 meters above sea level, mainly in the hilly and fertile center of the country. Mt. Kenya, which at 5,200 meters is the second highest peak on the continent, dominates the coffee landscape and remains a sacred place for the Kikuyu tribe living on its slopes and environs. Smallholders, who account for at least 60% of total production and the majority of top qualities, are organized into cooperatives, each with one or more wet mills, or ‘factories’. The strong social structure built around these factories provides for vibrant rural coffee communities where generations of farmers uphold traditional values and practices.
Thanks to the two rainy seasons each year, some areas in Kenya enjoy two crops from the same tree – an ‘early’ (fly) crop and a ‘late’ (main) crop. This ensures that a fresh supply of coffee is available to the markets at all times, although the quality difference between the early and the late crops is quite apparent, with the latter being considerably more delicious