Coffee exports from Kenya are estimated at about 50 thousand tons annually by weight, fluctuating around 800-850 thousand bags per year. Despite this, in the global volume, such a seemingly large number is only about 0.5 percent. While up to half (!!!) the total global volume of coffee on the market is produced by Brazil.
However, it is not only the rarity that makes Kenyan coffee expensive, but above all, its quality.
First, coffee in Kenya grows in some of the best conditions for this botanical culture. Kenya is located in eastern Africa, right on the equator, which in the current climatic conditions puts it in the best possible geographical position in the world for growing coffee (read this article about the coffee belt of the world and its characteristics).
Secondly, Kenya has a diverse climate and geographical topography, as well as excellent temperature conditions for the growth of coffee as a crop. High — quality specialty Arabica feels great at altitudes of 1700-1800 meters-altitudes where local coffee producers ' farms are often located (with a total spread of 1000 to 2500 meters). Coffee berries grown at such heights are classified as SHG (Strictly high grown)/SHB (Strictly hard bean) according to the International Classification, which means exactly the highest height of cultivation (these two concepts are interchangeable, meaning, in fact, the same thing).
Third, there is a very suitable picture of annual precipitation and solar activity. The previously mentioned Heights, combined with an abundance of sunny days and a clear division of the year into rainy and dry seasons, create ideal berries that ripen slowly.
The process of slow ripening for specialty coffee berries is important because, being longer on the Bush, coffee cherries receive a richer set of nutrients necessary for ripening, forming a complex taste, much more complex than if it ripens very quickly in direct sunlight.
By the way, the best coffee beans in Kenya are grown in the shade (when coffee bushes grow under the shade of taller trees that protect them from the sun). Protection allows the berries not to burn in the sun, more berries to form from the flowers, and the flowers themselves to form in larger quantities compared to coffee plantations that are completely exposed to the sun. This is why almost all coffee in Brazil is of average and below average quality: almost all the plantations there are open to the sun and are located on flat plots of land for automated processing and harvesting.
Kenyan coffee size comes in 4 variations:
• E (Elephant, elephant size, the largest, in other classifications of the world can be called AAA);
• PB (Peaberry, that is, when a coffee cherry does not form two halves of a coffee bean, but one large one);
• AA (the size of the next largest coffee bean, which is 18 to 21 mm long and 7-7. 5 mm in diameter, standard 7.2 mm);
• Smaller sizes (such as AB, B, and others).
Strictly speaking, the change in the taste of coffee beans of different sizes is within the statistical margin of error. In other words, there are no absolutely reliable scientific studies that indicate that the size of berries and grains significantly affect the taste of coffee inside the same botanical variety under the same conditions (fermentation, drying, roasting and brewing).
That is, E/AAA, PB, AA, AB and B coffee Bbean sizes can have exactly the same taste, coming from the bushes of the same coffee variety. At the same time, Kenyan specialty coffee differs in its growing conditions, which makes it very good: height, geography, precipitation, duration of maturation, fermentation (dry or wet), drying (natural) and plant genetics itself.
As a result, its taste has a beautiful fullness of body, expressed by notes of lemongrass, dark berries, bergamot, citrus, flowers and a pleasant sourness. Some coffee enthusiasts may find the natural sourness even too pronounced, trying to smother it in a cup with milk or sugar. However, we are against this approach to cooking Kenyan Arabica at the specialty level.
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