KENYA AA COFFEE You can say that the most ironic part of the legend of coffee is that neighbor country Kenya was 6 centuries late in discovering the noble bean. The story of Kaldi, the red cherries and the dancing goats, happened in Ethiopia, the neighbor of Kenya. As it appears, coffee was discovered thriving in the highlands of Ethiopia sometime in early 1300’s but Kenya had their first trees of coffee in the year 1893. One more interesting fact is that it took somebody from France to introduce coffee to the land. French Holy Ghost Fathers from France planted coffee in the farms near Nairobi and this started the cultivation of Kenyan coffee. Kenya coffee production has become one of the livelihoods in the region. Today an estimate of six-million Kenyans are benefiting from Kenya’s coffee industry. The country is ranked number 17 in the list of world’s largest coffee producers.
Kenyan coffee grows in the High Plateau around Mt. Kenya, the Aberdare Range, Kisii, Nyanza, Bungoma, Nakuru and Kericho; these are the major coffee growing regions in Kenya. Most of the coffee producers are small farmers and these farmers are united by a cooperative system of milling, marketing and auctioning of coffee. Mt. Kenya has the best conditions for growing coffee plants. Its high plateaus have the right acidic soil and the perfect tropical climate. The coastal area is hot and humid while the inland is very dry in the north and northeast parts. Wet season occurs in the months of March to May. Kenyan coffee is graded according to size, examples are A, and AA. Kenya AA is the most exported and preferred grade. However, importers and buyers state that they do not buy according to size but for the overall flavor and class of the coffee. The many flavors and aromas of coffee gave coffee connoisseurs the continued interest to discover coffees from the different regions of the world. The geographical locations give each bean a distinct and unique taste. Kenya AA coffee is known for its medium body and unique layers of flavor. Like most coffees from Africa, Kenyan coffee has the remarkable floral aroma and citrus taste. Kenya’s coffee layers of flavor include the hints of black currant or blackberry to sweet tropical fruit. It took six centuries after coffee’s legendary discovery before the world was able to taste and enjoy the unique flavor of Kenya AA coffee. |
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