Kenya is King | Kenya Priory AA
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Time to read 4 min
My two favourite things about Kenya are that it produces the fastest marathon runners and the most distinctive and unmistakable coffee profile on the planet.
Now don't get me wrong, I love all the coffee from the Central and South American growing regions, and while it's their advantage that they share strong base flavours that make them ideal for espresso blending, it takes a trained palette to pick out the unique differences between say, Brazil from Colombia, and Peru from Guatemala.
East African coffee does not have this problem. One of the most wonderful things about East African coffee is just how extremely different the coffee tastes between the neighbouring countries. While they are worlds apart from American coffee, the flavour profiles of The Big Three (in my view Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda) are night and day in how unique they are. Ethiopia, the ancestral coffee land is know for it's floral, sweet and tropical flavours. Rwanda, for its round, ripe deep fruit and spice flavours. But for me, Kenya stands above them all in strength of character. Sparkling citrus acidity, sticky-sweet blackcurrant-like body, and big lairy notes of orange and grapefruit.
The arrival of fresh crop Kenyan coffee means that it must be high summer. It’s when I crave coffees that are super vibrant, juicy-sweet and high in citrus acidity. For this kind of profile, Kenya is the undisputed king.
The Kenyan Purchasing System
However, adding to its allure and mystique is the fact that in recent years access to Kenyan coffee has been increasingly difficult and supplies sparse, caused by the notorious auction system, a centralized, government-regulated platform (historically held weekly at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange) where licensed coffee buyers bid on lots of coffee submitted by farmers’ cooperatives and estates. While it is highly competitive and keeps Kenyan coffee prices high, it exists for good reasons.
Transparency & price discovery: Open bidding ensures farmers can see the market value of their coffee instead of relying on private buyers.
Quality recognition: Kenya’s system grades coffee by quality, so higher-grade beans fetch higher prices.
Global reputation: Auctions help maintain Kenya’s position as a source of premium specialty coffee by linking quality lots directly to international buyers.
Farmer protection: By pooling sales through auctions, smallholder farmers gain access to international markets they otherwise couldn’t reach.
So it's for these reasons that I never take the arrival of Kenya coffee for granted and always something to celebrate.
Kenya Priory Farm AA
What is AA?
In Kenya coffee grading terms, AA denotes the largest bean size and highest quality available. Followed by AB, C, which descend in bean size and associated quality, and then PB which denotes the Peaberry varietal that regular followers will recognise from our recent Burundi Peaberry Coffee.
Great Rift Coffee
This lot was grown, harvested, and processed by Great Rift Coffee of Nandi County, Kenya and harvested in October - November 2024. Great Rift Coffee is a vertically integrated coffee company based in Nandi Hills, Kenya, specialising in the cultivation, processing, roasting, and export of high-quality Arabica coffee. Established in 2019, the company operates with a farm-to-cup approach, ensuring quality control at every stage of production.
Sustainable Farming Practices
Great Rift Coffee is grown under a canopy of shade trees, mimicking the natural forest environment and providing a habitat for local wildlife. Additional crops and indigenous trees are also cultivated to improve soil fertility, reduce erosion, and promote a diverse ecosystem.
In line with organic farming principles, Great Rift Coffee avoids synthetic chemicals, opting instead for natural pest control and the use of organic fertilisers, such as manure from its goat farm.
Great Rift is also committed to efficient water management, employing irrigation systems designed to minimise water wastage.
There are buffer zones around Great Rift’s farm, preserving natural vegetation and providing a habitat for pollinators, which is also encouraged by the bee hives found throughout the farm.
Community Engagement
Great Rift Coffee actively engages with the local farming community, working with 250 to 300 coffee farmers in the region. The support available to these farmers includes the provision of high-quality coffee seedlings, financial assistance in the form of loans and subsidies for farming inputs, and training in best agricultural practices.
Great Rift’s presence in the region also provides work opportunities with fair wages in the form of jobs at its farm, mill, and roastery. In addition, the company has funded the construction of boreholes for local schools, ensuring that children in the area have access to fresh water. Also of note is Great Rift’s scholarship program, which provides full secondary school academic scholarships to the top-performing girls in Nandi County.
Roasting Kenyan Coffee
As I mentioned, what we know and love about Kenya coffee is that it's high in acidity and sweetness. I've also talked in the past about championing a roasting philosophy of roasting for the origin over roasting for the brewing method. Meaning that we tailor the roasting to showcase and highlight the origin and the work of the producer, translating them into cups of coffee through which they shine.
For Kenyan coffee this means that we roast hot and fast. AA beans are large, and because they are grown at high-altitude, they are incredibly dense, so the heat application in the roast needs to relatively aggressive. This creates a roast of high velocity, meaning that it will reach crack temperature quicker than say something we would roast specifically for espresso. Then, because of the build up of energy throughout the roast we will expect a relatively short post-crack time, around a minute rather than a normal 1:30-2+ minutes, and this will help retain and accentuate those delicate florals and the high acidity we want to showcase that has been cultivated in Kenya’s nutrient rich, volcanic soil.
Stevie's Serving Suggestion...
However, this comes with a catch. I would always recommend Kenya coffee to be brewed as filter. It's much more palatable with much more complexity. But if you like your espresso to be aggressive, with high levels of grapefruit-like acidity then you’ll love this.
You can buy our brand new Kenyan Priory Farm AA coffee online and in store right now.
The Author: Stevie McCusker
Stevie is the Head of Coffee at EDGE, responsible for sourcing ethically produced beans and streamlining the roasting process to ensure consistent quality and exceptional flavour in every cup.
