Coffee review

A brief introduction to the history and culture of the origin and development of coffee beans in Kenya

Published: 2024-09-20 Author: World Gafei
Last Updated: 2024/09/20, This coffee has an excellent medium purity, crisp and refreshing taste. It has a fresh flavor and is most suitable for drinking iced coffee in summer. When tasting this coffee, if it is paired with sour fruits such as grapefruit, it will certainly give me the best coffee experience. Kenya is bordered to the north by Ethiopia, the origin of Arabica coffee trees, but it was not until the early 20th century that it began to engage in coffee cultivation.

This coffee has an excellent medium purity, crisp and refreshing taste. It has a fresh flavor and is most suitable for drinking iced coffee in summer. When tasting this coffee, if it is paired with sour fruits such as grapefruit, it will certainly give me the best coffee experience. Kenya is bordered to the north by Ethiopia, the origin of Arabica coffee trees, but it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that coffee cultivation began. In the 19th century, missionaries introduced Arabica trees from the leaves, but did not plant them in large quantities. It was not until 1893 that coffee was cultivated on a large scale due to the introduction of Brazil's ancient bourbon seeds. In other words, Kenyan coffee was of Brazilian origin, due to changes in water, climate and handling methods. The flavor of Kenyan beans is very different from that of Brazilian beans. Brazilian coffee is planted at a low altitude, with soft texture and no obvious sour taste. In contrast, Kenyan coffee trees are mainly concentrated on the slopes near Mount Kenya, about 4 to 6500 feet above sea level, which is suitable for coffee beans to develop their flavor, because the mountain temperature is lower and the growth is slower, and the aromatic components of coffee beans are fully developed. the acidity of the fruit is more obvious and the texture is harder. In addition, Kenya was an early British colony, and the British had established a set of perfect cultivation and quality control system. After the independence of Kenya, the coffee industry built on the existing foundation.

Kenya, the full name of the Republic of Kenya, is located in eastern Africa, the equator runs across the central part of the equator, and the Great Rift Valley of East Africa stretches north and south. It is bordered by Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. There are many plateaus in the territory, with an average elevation of 1500 meters. The central peak of Kirinaga (Mount Kenya) is 5199 meters above sea level and the top of the mountain is covered with snow, making it the second highest peak in Africa.

Altitude, geology, latitude, treatment methods and varieties have made Kenyan coffee a heavyweight in the boutique world.

Altitude, latitude, geology: the equator runs through Kenya, and the border is just within ten degrees of north and south latitude. Belonging to tropical producing areas, there are two rainy seasons every year, with two harvests, with 60% concentrated from October to December and another 40% from June to August. Coffee is mainly grown in volcanic land around 1600-2100 meters above sea level from the capital Narobi to the mountains of Kenya. This height is suitable for the development of coffee bean flavor, because the mountain temperature is lower, the growth is slow, the aroma components of coffee beans have been fully developed, the sour taste is more obvious, and the texture is harder. This fertile moonbend-shaped coffee area is the main producer of Kenyan boutique beans.

Coffee is Kenya's second export product after tea. The main variety of coffee beans produced in Kenya is Arabica, which is one of the best quality coffee varieties in the world.

In the 16th century, Portuguese colonists occupied the coastal areas. In 1890, Germany and Britain divided East Africa, and Kenya was classified as Britain. The British government declared Kenya its "East African protectorate" in 1895 and changed it into its colony in 1920. Coffee was grown on large estates under British colonial rule, and the harvested beans were shipped to London for sale. The Coffee Act of 1933 was passed and the Kenya Coffee Commission was established, which in turn transferred coffee sales to Kenya. The auction system was established in 1934 and is still in use today. The following year, a draft grading system to help improve the quality of coffee was formally prepared. Kenya was founded in the Republic of Kenya on December 12, 1964 and remains in the Commonwealth. Nowadays, a variety of high-quality coffee can be produced. Kenya has made considerable progress in coffee research and development, and many farmers have highly professional knowledge of production. Kenya's coffee bidding system should help to get higher prices for producers who value quality.

Generally speaking, in alpine areas, due to the cold climate and the slow growth rate of coffee, the density of raw beans is higher and the texture is harder, and the more mellow and aromatic the coffee is, and it has a supple sour taste; on the contrary, the density of raw beans is smaller and the texture is less hard, then the quality of coffee is worse, so there are also people who classify it as "hardness". This classification method can be divided into the following categories: extremely hard beans, height of about 4500 to 5000 feet, referred to as SHB; high hard beans, height of about 3000cm 4500ft, referred to as GHB; hard beans, height of about 2000,000ft, referred to as HB; Pacific coastal area, height of about 984ft 3280ft, referred to as Pacific. Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Haiti are all classified in this way.

Like the choice of other coffee producing countries, although SL-28 and SL-34 have stood the test of time and cultivated generation after generation of faithful pumps for Kenyan coffee, the Kenyan government and the Coffee Research Institute (Coffee Research Foundation) have begun to promote a new variety, Ruiri 11, for the sake of coffee yield and disease resistance. The promoters assure coffee lovers that the new variety still has the classic flavor of Kenyan coffee. However, the continuous efforts have not won the recognition of coffee gluttons, who agree that the new varieties lack taste and that the future of Ruiru11 remains to be seen.

In addition to the prestigious traditional Arabica coffee, robusta coffee is also produced in the western lowlands of Kenya.

Coffee cultivation in Kenya

Mainly by large farms (Estate) and cooperatives (Cooperatives) two types. The former generally has a large planting area and has independent coffee processing facilities. Most coffee production is done by a large number of small farmers, who form coffee cooperatives. The Coffee Cooperative Society employs special managers to supervise the coffee processing of its members, even to the point of managing each coffee tree.

Compared with shading planting in many high-quality producing areas, Kenyan coffee is obviously more spicy and unrestrained, and shade trees are not common. In addition, Kenyan coffee rarely participates in certification, variety and environmental factors make the use of pesticides necessary, and organic certification, which is popular in other countries, becomes rare in Kenya.

Kenyan coffee harvest season

There are two harvest seasons in Kenya, the main harvest season is from October to December and the secondary harvest season is from May to July.

Kenyan coffee processing

The origin of coffee-Kenya

Kenya grows high-quality Arabica coffee beans, which absorb almost the essence of coffee cherries, with a slightly sour, thick aroma, and are very popular among Europeans, especially in Britain. Kenya Coffee has surpassed Costa Rican coffee and become one of the most popular coffees.

Kenyan coffee beans the Kenyan government takes the coffee industry very seriously, where it is illegal to cut down or destroy coffee trees. Kenyan coffee buyers are world-class high-quality coffee buyers, and no other country can grow, produce and sell coffee on a continuous basis like Kenya. All coffee beans are first acquired by the Kenya Coffee Commission (CoffeeBoardofKenya, CBK), where they are identified, graded, and then sold at weekly auctions, where they are no longer graded. The Kenya Coffee Commission only acts as an agent to collect coffee samples and distribute them to buyers so that they can determine the price and quality. The auction in Nairobi is for private exporters, and the Kenya Coffee Commission pays growers a price below the market price. The best coffee grade is bean berry coffee (PB), followed by AA++, AA+, AA, AB and so on. The fine coffee is shiny, delicious and slightly alcoholic. Auctions are also organized to meet the needs of dispatchers. This kind of auction usually has a small auction volume (3-6 tons each), with samples with the grower's logo for buyers to enjoy. After the auction, the exporters pack according to different flavors, different qualities and the quantity required by the blenders. This provides a great deal of flexibility for the dispatcher. Quality-conscious Germans and Nordic people are long-term buyers of Kenyan coffee.

High-quality Kenyan coffee is aromatic, full-bodied and fruity, with a rich and perfect taste. Kenyan coffee has a wonderful fruit flavor, tastes like BlackBerry and grapefruit, and is a favorite of many coffee gluttons. This coffee has an excellent medium purity, crisp and refreshing taste. It has a fresh flavor and is most suitable for drinking iced coffee in summer. When tasting this coffee, if it is paired with sour fruits such as grapefruit, it will certainly give me the best coffee experience. "not much like coffee, but a bit like fruit tea" is the common feeling of many people about this kind of shallow roasted Kenyan coffee.

Aromatic, full-bodied, with fruit flavor, taste rich and perfect. Kenyan coffee has a wonderful fruit flavor, tastes like BlackBerry and grapefruit, and is a favorite of many coffee gluttons.

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