Kenyan Coffee Guide: Facts, Tips for Buying, and Brewing

Coffee experts value Kenyan coffee due to their full body and delicate, complex flavors. This isn’t by chance. Kenyan farmers have many factors working in their favor. From ideal growing conditions to extensive research and commerce strategies, a lot is happening behind the scenes to keep that supply of delicious Kenyan coffee beans flowing.

Let’s dive deeper into the beauty of Kenyan coffee production and culture to see what makes the country one of the world’s best coffee regions.

Current State Of Coffee Production in Kenya

The coffee industry of Kenya is often touted as one of the world’s most advanced. This is due to a cooperative system of production, processing, milling, and marketing. 

The Nairobi Coffee Exchange is the primary auction system for trading Kenya coffee. This, along with a robust coffee research foundation and government support from the Coffee Board of Kenya, is deemed to be the key to the region’s global success.

Coffee growing arrived to Kenya with the British in the early 20th century, and it is now the 16th largest producer, with annual yields on the order of 100 million tons. Approximately 95% is designated for export as Kenyans themselves have long favoured tea drinking. 

Estimates suggest there are 150,000 coffee growers across Kenya, and up to six million Kenyans find direct or indirect employment through the coffee industry (1). Two-thirds of production stems from small scale coffee farming with the remaining third deriving from large plantations.

Despite the profitability of the beans themselves, coffee farmers in Kenya are amongst the world’s poorest. This is beginning to take a toll on production with yields falling in recent years as small-scale farmers give in to socio-economic factors. Coffee exports are also declining due to a property boom in areas that were previously used for cultivation, as well as global coffee price instability.

What Type Of Coffee Is Kenyan?

Almost all of the best Kenyan coffee beans are Arabica, the varietal known to offer a better flavor and high quality coffee. This contributes to its worldwide reputation for premium gourmet coffee (2). Kenya is a perfect place to grow Arabica beans, which thrive at high elevations and in deep, well-drained loamy soil. In Africa, robusta coffees are grown in Madagascar and Uganda.

In what is becoming a global trend, Kenya is increasingly under fire for introducing new hybrid  Arabica plants, like K7, that successfully resist coffee berry disease and coffee leaf rust. Unfortunately, these beans do not offer the same subtly acidic nuances as the old classics.

Coffee beans from Kenya are graded by bean size, with the measurement process carried out on green coffee beans prior to roasting. The largest beans are graded Kenya E (for elephant) and the second largest are designated Kenya AA.

Kenya AA coffee beans are among the world’s most sought-after, and you can see why in this video:

The Most Famous Coffee From Kenya

The original Kenyan coffee trees were the bourbon variety, often referred to as French Mission coffee because it arrived with French missionaries.

The most popular and prized Kenyan coffee beans today are SL28 and SL34. These robotic-sounding names come from the fact that both were developed and promoted by Scott Labs (SL). The Kenyan government hired the lab in the 1930s to determine the most economically viable coffee strains.

SL-34 is distinguished in the field by its bronze-tipped leaves, resistance to heavy rainfall, and lower elevation growth conditions. The SL-28 is the prima donna of the two. It offers a complex and dazzling tomato-like acidity so unique that many discuss terroir as a contributing factor.

Major Coffee Growing Regions

Coffee in Kenya is grown in fertile volcanic soil on high plateaus between 1400 and 2000 meters above sea level. This deep, loamy soil has lots of nutrients for the cultivation of Arabica beans.

At present, about 160,000 hectares of land is cultivated for coffee, divided between large coffee plantations and small scale growers. The characteristically bright flavors of Kenyan java are often credited to the nearly complete lack of shade on the farms.

The largest and oldest coffee-growing regions are found in the central highlands around Mount Kenya. This includes Nyeri, the Aberdare Range, Thika, Kirinyaga, and Nakuru. 

Coffee is also grown to a lesser extent in Nyanza, Bungoma, and Kisii in the west near Mt. Elgon and in the Taita hills on the southeast coast.

Processing Methods

Only perfectly ripe red coffee cherries are selected during picking, with care taken to remove any damaged or diseased fruit.

The vast majority of processing is carried out via the wet method, which tends to yield a cleaner, brighter, and fruitier cup. The protocol is well established around the country to produce a reliable high-quality product (3). 

The beans undergo a long fermentation process of up to 36 hours. This helps to remove the slimy, sugary coating, after which they are sun-dried and then sent onwards for milling.

What Does Kenyan Coffee Taste Like?

Kenya coffee beans are widely regarded as some of the best in the world. They are known for their full body, balanced complexity, and deep dimension. They typically offer a savory-sweet nuance that experts describe as wine-like acidity (4). Because the beans are grown at high elevations in volcanic soils, they are imbued with high acid content that many coffee lovers covet.

Depending on the coffee bean varietal, Kenyan coffee tasting notes range from black-currant berries to tart citrus. They are universally clean in the cup, have a floral aroma, and offer a tropical taste unique to the area and prized by many connoisseurs.

How To Brew Kenyan Coffee

You can enjoy Kenya’s coffee in several different ways depending on the qualities of the single-origin coffee you want to emphasize. Here are our favorites.

Steeping Methods Are The Best

We recommend a steeping rather than drip method to truly savor the subtle nuances and pleasant aroma of a Kenyan brew.

A French Press or an Aeropress are both excellent tools for the job.

We suggest grinding a little finer and brewing a little stronger than standard, which serves to better highlight the bright and acidic nature of the beans.

Kahawa Chungu

Kenyans prefer tea to coffee, and it is only in the past few decades that coffee-drinking has begun to take hold in the region. The exception is Kahawa Chunghu, also known as Kenyan Bitter Coffee, which is traditionally sipped from miniature cups by elderly Swahili men.

The beverage is typically brewed over a charcoal stove in a tall brass kettle (5). It derives its bitterness through the inclusion of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and/or other spices. It is often served with dates or other sweet treats to balance the palate.

Kahawa Chunghu is frequently touted as an aphrodisiaque as it helps with blood circulation and alertness.

A Cold Brew With A Bright Flavor

Kenyan beans are often considered among the best for making cold brew. Cold brewing coffee preserves the more subtle floral and fruity notes of a bean while tempering the acidity. It showcases the Kenyan beans renowned for juicy flavors.

Cold brewing is as simple as steeping coarsely ground coffee in cold water for 18 to 24 hours before straining out the grounds.

How To Roast Kenyan Coffee

Coffee beans from Kenya take well to a variety of roasts, but most coffee roasters opt for a light to medium roast. Different classifications (Kenya AA, AB, peaberry) respond differently to the application of heat, but the relative density of all these beans means that all grades are quite forgiving (6). 

The main thing with roasting a Kenya is that you want to really bring out the sweetly fruited acidity while also showcasing the creamy or juicy (weighted) mouthfeel. – Sweet Maria’s 

The drying stage of the roast is particularly important with Kenyans. Slower drying helps push the sweetness and develop the prized weighty mouthfeel. Reaching of the first crack must be done slowly. After roasting, let the Kenyan beans rest for at least two days to optimize their inherent sweetness.

Furahia Kahawa Yako (Enjoy Your Coffee)

Good Kenya coffee is globally renowned thanks to high-elevation and loamy volcanic soils that are ideal for rearing arabica beans. By pairing these fortuitous natural resources with a sophisticated growth, production, and distribution system, Kenya has taken full advantage of its coffee potential. As external factors begin to negatively influence production in the region, be sure to sample some of this luxury product before it’s too late.