Kenya aa mount. Buy coffee kenya aa Kenya aa description

"God works in mysterious ways".

Kenya is the best example of this biblical expression regarding coffee. Appearing in neighboring Ethiopia about a thousand years ago, the blessed grain through the Red Sea and Arabia went for a walk around the world. And returned toKenya after a couple of centuries (already from Reunion). Despite the fact that Kenya has a more than 1000-kilometer border with Ethiopia, in order to get out of the Kenyan open spaces, coffee in some strange way first had to make several circles around the planet.

That's how it happens...

Of course, I should have got to Kenya much earlier. But since I was destined to delay my visit, fate probably decided to make it unforgettable and throw me something previously unseen (and I saw a lot in the coffee world, believe me).

And so it happened. The coffee that was shown to me by one of the leading coffee countries in Africa became, without exaggeration, unique.

But more on that later.

We flew to Nairobi in early autumn and immediately rushed into battle. At the very first plantation (it was the Gikonda cooperative, one of the most famous coffee farms in Kenya), we were greeted with a coffee tree-tree.

Of course, no one specifically prepared any Christmas trees (in Kenya, they generally see snow once every 50 years), but since it was the coffee flowering period, the tall bourbon trees strewn with white lush flowers really looked like New Year's Eve.

Moreover, the coffee tree turned out not to be boringly monophonic, but in a kind of multi-colored garlands. Its upper part is covered with flowers, as if made of white cotton wool, and the lower part is covered with red-green "Christmas" berries.

I remember this picture because at that time I was doing a short video episode about a silvery film (a thin transparent cobweb that fits a green coffee bean). “Undressing” a coffee bean for shooting, I kept saying “No matter how cold it is on these“ New Year ”Kenyan“ frosty ”days ... at + 35 ° С”.

But if on this plantation we got off with jokes, then literally the next visit made me tense.

And how else, when upon arrival you are met by a group of people dressed in animal skins, dancing strange dances and periodically poking you in the chest with a club, very similar to a human tibia ...

But then you find out that this Kikuyu tribe is a very kind and peaceful people, to whom, among other things, Kenya owes coffee cultivation.

In 9 out of 10 cases, when a foreigner hears the word “Kenya”, in addition to exotic animals, the image of the legendary Maasai tribe will immediately appear before his eyes - thin warriors in the famous red-checkered capes.

I spoke about them in detail in a note from Tanzania, but I want to say that Kenya is by no means only the Maasai. There are 42 nationalities in the country, speaking 69 different languages ​​(with official English and Swahili).

This is the Luo people, from which, by the way, Barack Obama's distant ancestors come. Or the Samburu tribe, who are called "butterflies" for the colorfulness of their clothes and jewelry.

Another well-known ethnic group in Kenya is the Meru, whose history is shrouded in mysteries and mysteries for centuries. Within their people, they are clearly divided into three age categories - "red", "white" and "black". And the Meru tribe is a well-known coffee region and a variety of Kenyan coffee.

And such a nationality as Kalenjin is generally the national pride of the country. It was they who brought Kenya the world-renowned sports glory of runners: out of ten Olympic medals won by Kenyan runners, seven belong to people from the Kalenjin tribe. Statistics claim that Kenyan athletes win 120 of the 150 annual world running events.

At the same time, both competitors and scientists are trying in vain to find the secret of the phenomenal success of the Kenyans. They say that it is hidden in some special gene - “natural doping”, hidden by nature in their body. Others see the reason for the records in the climatic conditions of their habitat (alpine plateaus with rarefied air and low oxygen content train increased endurance).

Still others talk about the calenjin diet. Sports nutrition experts point to the richest source of energy that "lurks" in the tribe's favorite dish - ugali. This corn porridge is one of the most high-calorie dishes in Kenyan cuisine.

So the Maasai are not the only people in Kenya that deserve attention. Yes, they are not the most numerous. 22% of the country's population is just the above-mentioned Kikuyu - 6 million people, while the Masai are only about 1 million.

By the way, the name "Kenya" also comes from the Kikuyu language. More precisely, the country is named after its main peak - Mount Kenya, which comes from the word "kere-nyaga" from the language Kikuyu - "mountain of whiteness".

Mount Kenya is also featured on the logo of the Kenya Coffee Association.

If the Masai are pastoralists and hunters with rather aggressive traditions (for example, killing a lion at initiation into men), then the Kikuyu are peaceful farmers who settled a long time ago and left a nomadic life.

Although their appearance, as I was personally convinced of this, is fantastically colorful. Kikuyu paint their faces with the main tone, according to which they draw breathtaking patterns. They weave lush feathers into their hair and wear huge necklaces, often made of shells, and not beads, as is customary among the Maasai. In this tribe, which is not typical for East Africa, skins are used for clothing, and not colored fabrics.

But the greatest merit of the Kikuyu is coffee.

Coffee came to Kenya at the end of the 19th century through Scottish missionaries, but it received mass development here thanks to the Kikuyu. The tribe is credited with the glory of the founders of the coffee culture.

The country can rightfully be proud of their work, because it is largely due to their efforts that Kenyan coffee has become a brand in the world market and continues to gain popularity.

We spent the whole day with them, ate together, sang and danced, I even read prayers in their language. And, of course, the Kikuyu treated us to their coffee, which was accompanied by obligatory delicacies.

Sweet potatoes already known to me and an unfamiliar root crop called "arrowroot" - "arrow root" (if I'm not mistaken, this is called "arrowroot", although we also seem to call it "arrowroot") acted as delicacies.

To be honest, both tasted rather dry, but, on the other hand, something like a biscuit, so it went very well with coffee. In addition, arrowroot is an excellent product for dietary nutrition.

Recently, when traveling, I often ask farmers about the role global warming- Recently, this issue worries manufacturers more and more.

The topic “Global warming” is not an easy one, and it is necessary to talk about the nuances in detail and for a long time. But in short - most farmers say that the main problem is not that coffee suffers from the heat (after all, on "open" plantations, the trees are constantly under the scorching sun anyway).

A much bigger problem lies in the fact that an increase in temperature affects general changing processes.

You need to understand that growing crops is not just a matter of climate or temperature, but a whole range of interrelated factors.

Let's explain this using the example of flowering and ripening of coffee fruits.

This cycle looks like this. Approximately at the 5th year of life (for growing up to this time, see the note “ How coffee trees are planted”), it becomes “industrial” and begins to bear fruit steadily once a year (in some countries twice a year - this is also related to climate, rainfall, etc.).

A) from the moment when what we call “buds” appear on the tree, about a week passes before the flower appears;

B) after another week, the flower falls off, and what the farmers call "pinheads" - small buds, from which coffee fruits begin to grow, remains on the branches;

C) a fruit appears from the buds (this phase is called “milky stage” - “milk period”) - at this time, white milk can even be squeezed out of it;

D) after 9 months, farmers get wonderful coffee berries.

9 months is not an exact figure, the harvest ripening period can vary from 6 to 11 months, but on average they count 9 (by the way, have you noticed that this is the same as bearing a child?).

The term depends on the duration of the rainy season in a given place - they are vital for the ripening of the fruit. Therefore, the amount of rainfall per year is one of the most important indicators for a farmer.

During the rainy season, the coffee berry grows, and after it ends, it begins to fully ripen and change color from green to red (or yellow, depending on the type of coffee).

So, if you look at it from the point of view of global warming, then due to climate change, not only the temperature increases, but also all the biological rhythms described above are violated. This results in cycle failures, altered coffee flavors and reduced production volumes. Therein lies the main problem.

Farmers, of course, do not sit idly by, but look for new opportunities and develop new varieties. In all producing countries there are national institutes involved in the study and development of new breeds.

For example, one of the most famous innovations in Kenya is the Batian coffee variety.

It clearly stood out at those tastings where we tried it, but, to be honest, the taste confused me a little.

I asked the farmers: why is Batian good for you? To which he received the answer: since the resistance to diseases is better, it means that you need to spend less on fertilizers.

You need to understand that for us, consumers, the main criterion for coffee quality is taste drink. And for most producers, “quality” is how the grain is washed and cleaned, what is its size, whether it has defects, and other, rather, technical parameters.

In no case do I want to offend the farmers - I respect their work too much. I'm just saying that different sides of the coffee chain - the manufacturer and the client in the coffee shop - have slightly different evaluation criteria.

This does not mean at all that manufacturers do not consider taste - quite the opposite: they are increasingly putting it at the forefront, listening to customers more and focusing on their requests and needs. And Batian will be fine with time, I'm sure of it.

It is impossible not to say a few words about the famous Kenyan term "AA".

I want to draw your attention: this is a “term”, not a “coffee variety”.

Many advanced coffee lovers, seeing such a badge on packs of Kenyan coffee, think that this is the name of a particular variety.

No, it's not. Almost every Kenyan coffee has an "AA" badge, because it's just a definition size grains - the gradation of coffee produced in the country is based on it (see note " How is the world classification of coffee arranged?" in the book "Secrets of coffee").

When the collected, dried and cleaned coffee is sorted, then with the help of special sieves, the beans are distributed by size into categories: AA - the largest, AB - smaller, then T and TT (what is screened out from categories AA and AB), then PB - peaberry (round grains), and then C - the lowest quality grain (it is mainly sold in the local market).

That is, AA is not a type of coffee, but a TYPE (SIZE) of grain.

Kenya's AA bean size is truly one of the best coffees in the world - there's no doubt about that. I just want coffee lovers to clearly understand the difference and know what they are paying money for.

For when I hear a coffeeshop salesman offering a customer "Bourbon from Brazil" and "AA from Kenya," I always want to clarify that Kenyan AA can easily be bourbon too.

And when the seller says that AA is the largest bean from Kenya, I immediately want to make one more correction: there is also a larger bean size. It is classified as "E", meaning "Elephant bean" - "Elephant grain".

Kenyan Arabica is famous for its acidity, and as a student of the Italian coffee culture, I am very wary of acidity.

But I must admit that in the world classification, Kenya is not in vain in the Colombian group of “soft” varieties - it really has the mildest taste and pleasant sourness.

Of course, espresso still makes Kenyan sour, and in milk under cappuccino it feels weaker, but in the preparation of the filter method "AA" is simply excellent.

Well, now about the main discovery made by me in Kenya.

One day we arrived at the Coffee Institute in Ruiru (well known in Africa for its scientific coffee activities), where a whole plantation is reserved for a kind of “Museum of Coffee Trees” from around the world.

Here they show you a coffee tree that is over 100 years old, but it still produces a decent crop.

Then you can hide under a giant Coffea Liberica tree with huge leaves that look more like a fern than coffee...

Then to see a coffee tree with a very erotic name "Coffea canephora erecta", whose branches do not hang down, but always look up.

And suddenly ... I see a tree whose fruits are more like small red tomatoes than coffee - they are bright red and completely round, and not oval, like regular coffee.

Unusually, but there was nothing supernatural about it. Exactly until the moment when the director of the institute did not pick and open this fruit for us.

What I saw inside him made me freeze in amazement for a moment.

You see, when you have already seen everything in the coffee world, it is very difficult to surprise you - any picture is predictable.

But when all your conscious life you see fruits with TWO grains (how else?), And once a coffee berry suddenly looks at you from dragon teeth, or some kind of corn cob with a number of grains - this is simply shocking .. .

This type of coffee is called "Coffea arabica var. polysperma Burck" (Burck is a Dutch botanist who first discovered it in Indonesia in 1890) or simply "Coffea polysperma".

"Polysperma" means "multi-seeded". In those fruits that we “undressed” in Ruiru, as well as those that I brought home with me, instead of the standard 2, there were 8 grains in everyone.

After returning, I ironed the entire Internet in search of information about Coffee polysperma. It is very small, but still comes across - either on plantations in Indonesia, or on farms in Colombia, they are already trying to plant this variety. They describe either 5, then 6, then 7 grains in the fruit, then, as in my case, 8.

The grains are uneven in shape and empty inside - it seems that they lacked some nutritional elements (it may well be: to feed two children or eight - there is a difference).

The taste of Coffee polysperma, as I was told, is very hard. Some attempts are now being made to improve it by crossing it with other commercial varieties. I think that sooner or later we will definitely hear about it - this variety is too outstanding in terms of the shape of the berry and its marketing capabilities.

But for me, it has already become the most unusual coffee in the world.

I spent the last few days of our trip in Nairobi - I rode around the city and its environs and went on safari to the famous Masai Mara reserve.

Remember my story about Serengeti in Tanzania? So, Masai Mara is actually its northern part, but located in Kenya. It is 20 times smaller than the Serengeti, but it is home to the largest population of leopards in the world, and it is also famous for its lions, which live here in large numbers.

True, if in the Serengeti we saw chic plots of lion hunting, then here we managed only with love scenes of a lion with a lioness.

And finally, Kenya gave me one more coffee interestingness.

In the Masai Mara, I stayed at a hotel located at the "salt-lick". I don’t know exactly how to translate it (something like “salt lick”), but this is the name of the place where, during a drought, animals from the savannah come to lick salt. In these places, cunning tourists are located and watch all sorts of colorful representatives of the African fauna.

And so, after spending a chic evening on a safari and a night in the sounds of wildlife, I go out to the hotel for breakfast and notice a kind of samovar in the restaurant.

At first I thought it was tea, because Kenya is famous for it - the country is the largest tea producer in Africa and one of the top five world leaders.

Then he looked at the inscription: "Kahava Tamu". "Kahawa" in Swahili means "coffee" - I know for sure.

Wait, is that tea or coffee?

Turns out it was coffee. “Tamu” means “sweet”, and Kenyans prepare this coffee by adding cardamom, cinnamon and lots and lots of ginger and sugar. True, I was told that somewhere in the Mombasa region a similar drink is called "kahava chungu", but it is bitter because it is prepared without sugar.

Especially such kahava is held in high esteem by fans of gat - a tonic herb that the locals love to chew (I talked about it in Yemen, only they call it "kat" there) - coffee paired with gat is very invigorating ...

Probably due to ginger, but from Kahava Tamu I had the feeling that it was alcoholic - so sharp, despite the increased sweetness, it tastes good.

But the coffee itself in this mix, to be honest, felt unforgivably weak. But in general, the drink left a pleasant feeling, although, in my opinion, it is more suitable for treating a throat than for lunch.

For coffee, by the way, my biscuit pie went perfectly.

I noticed that such a biscuit is generally very popular in Kenya. It is poured all the time with various jams and condensed milk, and I love this business very much.

Well, on this sweet note, I think we can end our memories of the colorful Kenyan tribes and the unusual polysperma coffee.

Africa is a poor continent. It's hot in Africa. There are still difficulties with food and service.

But Africa attracts travelers from all over the world no less than the Louvre or the Vatican. It seems to me that she is loved for her wild nature, primitiveness and saturation of colors, which evoke some strange, but very bright and warm emotion in the soul.

And for delicious coffee.

With the beautiful motto "So rich, so Kenyan" - "So rich, so Kenyan ..."