Friends who often buy coffee beans will not find it difficult to find that there are always English suffixes such as AA and AB after the names of most coffee beans. Especially Kenyan coffee beans, what are Kenya AA, Kenya AB, Kenya PB, KenyaAA+, Top and so on."So what do these suffixes mean?" Recently, many friends have asked this question at Front Street offline stores. In fact, it is very simple. These are just like the G1 and G2 suffixes of Ethiopian coffee beans, which are the grade identification of coffee beans.in"Three Grading Systems of Coffee Beans"Front Street shared in this article that in order to allow producers, traders, and consumers to quickly and clearly understand the quality and characteristics of coffee beans, coffee beans are generally subject to a systematic and standardized evaluation before being sold, and then the coffee beans are assigned a corresponding grade based on the evaluation results, and finally sold at a price corresponding to the grade.Different countries have different grading systems. For example, Ethiopia grades coffee beans according to the defect rate. Most coffee beans in Central and South America are graded according to the altitude where they are grown. Those using AA, AB and other grades are mainly graded based on the particle size of the coffee beans.This is indeed the case for coffee grading in Kenya, but in addition to the size of the coffee beans, the official will also add other characteristics such as shape, hardness, etc. to comprehensively evaluate the grading of coffee beans. The grades from high to low are: AA, AB, C, PB, E, TT, T, MH/ML.AA：AA grade is the highest grade among Kenya’s official grades. Its requirement is that the particle size of coffee beans needs to be between 17 and 18 mesh.AB：AB grade is second only to AA grade. Its requirement is that the size of coffee beans needs to be between 15 and 16 mesh.PB：PB is a special grade. The coffee beans in this grade are round in appearance, commonly known as round beans.E：Similar to the PB grade, the coffee beans in the E grade will also have a special appearance. They will be larger than ordinary coffee beans, about 21 mesh, commonly known as elephant beans.C：The standard requirement for C grade is that the size of coffee beans needs to be between 13 and 14 mesh.TT：The TT grade refers to the lighter coffee beans from the AA and AB grades that can be blown up by a blower.T：As above, T grade refers to lighter coffee beans from C grade that can be blown up by a blower.MH/NL：The coffee beans in this grade refer to those coffee beans that have not been carefully processed and are not of high quality. They are generally not exported and will only be sold domestically.The above is Kenya’s official coffee grading system. In addition to the above-mentioned grades, as Front Street introduced at the beginning, there are also AA+,AA TOP, FAQ and other classifications. These are not the official national grading system grades. They are secondary grading of AA grade coffee beans by green bean traders.The secondary grading standards of each merchant are different, but it is not difficult for us to guess that the evaluation is based on the performance of coffee experience such as flavor, layer, and mouthfeel. For example, the flavor of this bean is very outstanding, the acidity of this bean is very bright, and it is the best among AA coffee beans, so we can define it as AA+, or AA TOP grade to distinguish it from other AA grade coffee beans.But what we need to know is that AA+, AA TOP and other grades of coffee beans are not necessarily better than AA grade coffee beans. They are gradings added by green bean merchants themselves, and there will inevitably be commercial considerations. In addition, as mentioned before, each exporter has its own standards, so the results are also different.Of course, there are also bean merchants who will not participate in this kind of gameplay. Because they will think that the coffee beans they sell are already the best ones selected by themselves, and there is no need to distinguish them from other coffee beans in this way. For example, Front Street currently sells Kenyan Cherry Tomato on Tmall Taobao. It is Front Street’s final choice after cupping dozens of Kenyan coffee beans. It is an AA grade coffee bean from the Asalia processing plant in Kenya.Front Street Coffee: Kenya Azalea
Origin: Thika
Treatment Plant: Azalea Treatment Plant
Altitude: 1550~1750 meters
Variety: SL28, SL34
Treatment method: washed
Flavor: ebony plum, cherry tomato, brown sugar, blackberry
In order to fully demonstrate the bright acidity and caramel texture of Kenya, Front Street chose a curve with a long development time for roasting. In the end, the roasting degree of this Kenyan cherry tomato will fall into the medium-light range. The extraction parameters are as follows:The amount of powder is 15g, the ratio of powder to water is 1:15, the grinding degree is Ek43 10 scale, the sieving rate of No. 20 mesh is 75%~80%, the water temperature is 92°C, the filter cup is V60, and the extraction time is 2 minutes.The concentration of Kenya brewed with this formula is just right, and we can clearly taste the bright acidity of cherry tomatoes and ebony plums, the sweetness of caramel, and the long finish of oolong tea. Very good~
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
