Universally regarded as one of the world's finest coffees, Kenya AA is full-bodied, complex, and balanced with high-grown acidity, black currant flavor, and intense aromatics that merge for a perfect finish.
Despite its proximity to Ethiopia, coffee was not imported to Kenya until 1893 from the island of Reunion, formerly the Isle of Bourbon. Today Kenya owns one of the most celebrated coffee origins and sets the world standard for coffee production and processing. Kenya AA grows in deep volcanic soil on plateaus surrounding the slopes of Mt. Kenya in the central region. This "red wine" of coffees owes much of its reputation to Kenya's efficient cooperatives of small holders, advanced wet-processing techniques, and an export industry that rewards growers for attaining high quality.
The Kenya Coffee Board oversees the cupping of each coffee lot and assigns a ranking using standardized criteria developed for bean preparation, flavor, acidity and aroma. The lots are then sent to Nairobi for auction where the finest grades fetch the highest prices. The "AA" designates Kenya's cleanest, largest, and most uniform beans. This system produces remarkable consistency in growing methods, milling, and auctioning across a web of about 150,000 growers, the majority of whom are small-scale farmers. The topography of high-altitude plateaus in major Kenyan coffee regions combined with acidic soil provides excellent growing conditions for Arabica. This quality-driven approach results in a coffee treasured throughout the world.
