Introduction to the flavor of Kenyan coffee

Introduction Editor

Kenyan coffee

Kenyan coffee

Kenya's northern neighbor is Ethiopia, where the Arabica coffee tree originated, but it was not until the early twentieth century that coffee cultivation began. In the 19th century, missionaries introduced Arabica trees from Yemen, but did not plant them in large quantities. It was not until 1893 that they introduced the ancient Brazilian bourbon coffee seeds to cultivate coffee on a large scale. In other words, Kenyan coffee has Brazilian ancestry. Due to differences in water, climate and processing methods, Kenyan beans have a completely different flavor from Brazilian beans. Brazilian coffee is grown at low altitudes, with soft texture and no obvious fruit acid flavor. Kenyan coffee trees, on the other hand, are concentrated on the slopes near Mount Kenya, between 4,000 feet and 6,500 feet above sea level, which is suitable for coffee bean flavor development, because the mountain temperature is lower, the growth is slower, the aroma of coffee beans is fully developed, the fruit acid flavor is more obvious, and the texture is harder. In addition, Kenya was a British colony in the early days, and the British have established a complete system of cultivation and quality control. After Kenya became independent, the coffee industry was on an established basis.

There are two types of coffee farms in Kenya. One is a large plantation covering more than five acres, but the average elevation is lower. For Kenya coffee, the coffee beans of the large farm are only moderate in quality. The best Kenyan beans are produced in small farms, mostly located in the foothills or hillsides above 5,000 or 6,000 feet. Each small farmer can only produce about 20 to 70 bags per season. They cannot afford to invest in expensive washing and treatment plants. However, small farmers are very united. Hundreds or thousands of families set up cooperative farms. The washing and treatment plants are funded by the government. The coffee fruits picked by small farmers are sent to cooperative farms for unified processing. First, the half-ripe or rotten fruits are removed, and then peeled, fermented, The process of breaking down the pulp, removing the beans, drying and polishing is supervised by the official Coffee Authority, which is quite rigorous and ensures the quality of Kenyan coffee. Kenya bean washing processing technology and high standards of quality pipe, has been a model of bean producing countries.

Kenya coffee berries

Don't underestimate Kenya's small farmers. They are no different from ants and soldiers. Their overall productivity is higher than that of large farms, about six to four, which is quite rare in soybean producing countries. Kenyan coffee is widely appreciated by connoisseurs, thanks in large part to smallholder farmers who work hard to grow good coffee in the foothills. In addition, Kenya beans must have a strict classification system, washing plant coffee beans, according to size, shape and hardness, divided into five grades, the highest level is PB, followed by AA++, AA+, AB. This grading system is similar to Colombia, mainly based on particle size and shape considerations, but good selling is not good flavor. This is what coffee fans should know. The current international evaluation of Kenyan beans is not as good as in previous years. I believe this is related to the abnormal climate and unfavorable coffee growth, but things are not so simple. This is related to the Kenyan authorities 'efforts to promote a new variety, Ruiru11, which has stronger disease resistance and higher unit yield. The taste test results show that the new variety with higher economic value has worse flavor than the traditional variety. Worse, Ruiru11 is about to replace the traditional Arabica and Bourbon varieties. In addition, the decline in coffee quality, auction prices are not good, small farmers 'income is reduced, coupled with the coffee management bureau people do not plan, farmers' enthusiasm for coffee greatly reduced, of course will affect the quality. Moreover, Kenya's excellent washing technology has also deteriorated, which is a killer of quality.

In addition, Kenya was a British colony in the early days, and the British have established a complete system of cultivation and quality control. After Kenya became independent, the coffee industry made great strides on the existing basis and became Kenya's foreign exchange earning industry.