Introduction to the main varieties of Kenyan Coffee will Kenyan round beans taste better than flat beans?

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

In our common coffee beans, the shape is flat on one side and curved on one side, which we call flat beans. But a coffee tree, always grow a group of cute, they are round and chubby, into a three-dimensional oval, we call it round beans.

Because of the special appearance of beans, the online phrases about the flavor performance of small round beans and flat beans seem to prefer round beans. One of them, "one bean will taste better after absorbing two beans", attracted the attention of Qianjie and examined whether this view is true by PB and AA level flat beans from Sassini Manor.

Kenya Qian Busacini Manor

KIAMBU

The Qianbu growing area is located in central Kenya, which is a traditional tea growing area, but has the highest altitude coffee growing area in the area, named after the town of Nakuru, this area is planted at an altitude of about 1850 to 2200 meters above sea level, the coffee production is relatively low, it is the planting pattern of manors and small farmers, and coffee is harvested in two seasons.

Sassini Manor is located in the Kiambu producing area, at an altitude of 1500 to 2000 meters. Here beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, sufficient sunshine, fertile soil, belongs to fertile acid red soil, loose soil, deep soil layer, so its drainage is good, the PH value of its water quality is between 5.5 and 6.5.

But where do lovely and loving round beans come from?

Peaberry

Normally, there are coffee beans split in half in a coffee berry, but in a few cases the internal seeds do not split (these are called beads). Because the side close to each other is flat, it is called flat beans or lentils.

However, the reason for the growth of some beans is unknown, only one of the coffee beans is mature, while the other is stunted and unformed, and the mature side should have enough room for growth, so they think that they will follow the growth shape of the coffee fruit and become chubby oval, so it is called round beans. The yield of round beans is low, which is common in the branches of young coffee trees, accounting for 510% of the total yield.

The grades of round beans are distinguished separately.

PB

Round beans are usually divided into a separate grade, which is what we call PB. Round beans are generally smaller than flat beans, so they are also known as small round beans. For the grading of round beans, there is a set of sieve size standards, generally using the 812 screen to grade round beans.

As the output of round beans is less, more manpower will be spent on picking in the screening process, and the labor cost has increased, so the price of round beans will be relatively higher. Will it taste better than flat beans? The back and front street is illustrated by cup testing and brewing.

Front Street Coffee-PB beans from Sassini Manor, Kenya

Producing area: Qianbu, Kenya

Manor: Sassini Manor

Altitude: 1500-2000m

Treatment: washing treatment

So what kind of coffee is this little round bean?

SL28

SL28 according to historical documents, senior coffee officials at the Scott Laboratory (A.D. Trench) have noticed a variety that seems to be tolerant to drought, disease and pests in Modi, Tanzania. The seed was collected and taken back to Scott's laboratory, where its drought resistance was confirmed.

In recent years, genetic tests have also confirmed that SL28 belongs to the bourbon gene group, so the shape of SL28 coffee beans is also similar to the round and thick shape of bourbon varieties. Qianjie through the SL28 variety, its flavor is complex and changeable acidity, and great sweetness.

Front Street Coffee-washing AA in Sassini Manor, Kenya

Production area: Sassini Manor in Kiambu production area

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Treatment method: washing treatment

Altitude: 1650m

Grade: AA

Washing treatment method

Washed

The coffee beans of these two Sassini estates on the front street are washed in the most traditional way. First remove the peel and pulp and let it ferment for 12-18 hours, then put the fermented beans into the pool and move them back and forth, using the friction of the beans and the power of running water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are also wrapped in the pericarp, with a moisture content of 50%, so it should be dried to reduce the moisture content to 12-14%.

Experience of coffee baking in Qianjie

In front of the street, it was observed that the color of raw beans was green, the moisture content was relatively high and the density was relatively high. Because it is easier to roll round beans in a boiler, they will be heated more evenly than flat beans. However, the quality and density of this bean makes the heat transmission is not good, so the baking designed by Qianjie baker should allow enough heat to reach the bean core, so that the coffee can be better homogenized in the baking preparation stage by prolonging the dehydration time, and enter the explosion with higher firepower, showing its rich berry flavor and mellow taste.

Furnace temperature to 140 degrees Celsius into the pot, throttle open 3, firepower 130. Temperature recovery point: 1 temperature 39% 20 ". Bake to 6: 10 ", the temperature is 150.6 degrees, the bean surface turns yellow, the smell of grass disappears completely, and the dehydration is completed. The temperature rises to 159 degrees and the throttle opens 4. When the bean surface appears ugly Hu wrinkles and black markings, the smell of toast obviously changes to the smell of coffee, which can be defined as a prelude to an explosion. At this time, it is necessary to listen carefully to the sound of the explosion point, starting at 9: 40 ". The throttle door remains the same. The firepower rises to 160186 degrees and the throttle is opened. The development time is 2: 17 "and put into the pot at 197 degrees."

The front street observed that the AA grade beans are full and round. In order to make the beans show the bright and mellow flavor of Kenyan coffee, Qianjie coffee uses medium-light roasted beans.

Furnace temperature to 160 degrees Celsius into the pot, throttle open 3, firepower 120. Temperature recovery point: 1. 39%. 28 ". The temperature rises to 130 degrees and the throttle opens 4. Bake to 6: 00 ", the temperature is 154.6 degrees, the bean surface turns yellow, the smell of grass disappears completely, and the dehydration is completed. When the bean surface appears ugly Hu wrinkles and black markings, the smell of toast obviously changes to the smell of coffee, which can be defined as a prelude to an explosion. At this time, it is necessary to listen carefully to the sound of the explosion point, to 9: 28 ", the throttle remains the same, and the development time of the explosion is 2: 20". Put the pot at 193.8 degrees.

Coffee cup test report on Qianjie

Test report of Kenya PB Coffee Bean Cup

Dry fragrance: berries

Shixiang: caramel

Flavor: small tomato, honey, almond, plum, black plum

Test report of Kenya AA Grade Coffee Bean Cup

Dry fragrance: berries

Shixiang: caramel

Flavor: small tomato, black plum, nut, honey

Experience of brewing coffee in Qianjie

Qianjie noticed that Kenyan coffee beans are relatively easy to extract flavor, in order to avoid the finished coffee being too strong and sour, the degree of grinding on Qianjie is recommended to be a little finer than coarse sugar, water injection should be gentle to avoid excessive rolling of the powder layer, and the total extraction time should be controlled at 2: 39: 00: 39: 39; ±0 & # 39: 02 ".

This time, the two beans were brewed with 15g coffee powder in Qianjie and the proportion at 1:15. The grinding degree is 75% of the screening rate of the No. 20 screen, and the water temperature is 90 °C to prevent the high temperature from easily extracting the bitter substance and the lower temperature will highlight the acidity of this cup of coffee.

The use of segmented brewing, the first injection of 30g of water for steaming for 30s, at this time the coffee expanded more plump. The center of the second section is filled with 125g water in a small circle. The height of water injection is 5cm, the strength is gentle and the tumbling strength of powder layer is reduced as much as possible. When the water level drops to 1 stroke 2 of the silt layer, the third stage of water injection begins, and the water injection in this section gently circles outward from the center, and the flow is about 4g/s until the end of water injection is 225g. After all the coffee liquid in the filter cup is dripped, the extraction is finished, and the time is about 2 minutes 39 minutes.

Round bean flavor: at high temperature, the taste is berry juice, the acidity of black plum, the sweetness of honey, the full taste of tomato juice after cooling, the acidity of plums and the aftertaste of almonds.

AA bean cooking flavor: the obvious tomato juice full taste at high temperature, the acidity of black plum and the sweetness of honey, followed by a slight nut, juice-like taste and bright sour texture.

Are round beans really better than flat beans?

Through the front street cup test and cooking, it is not absolute that round beans are better than flat beans. What we have to say is that baking is relatively easy, so there will be a difference in taste clarity, which is only caused by the difference in baking. As the saying goes, "scarcity is precious". The fact that round beans taste better is just a psychological hint on the price, but at least from the comparison of Qianjie, there is not much difference in flavor between round beans and flat beans.

For more boutique coffee beans, please add private Qianjie coffee on Wechat. WeChat account: kaixinguoguo0925