What does Kenya coffee taste like next to Antigua coffee?

Starbucks sells 13 core coffee beans, and two origins stand out for contrasting profiles. Kenya coffee, introduced in 1971 and packaged with an African elephant, is full-bodied and solid, matching the elephant image many drinkers use. Guatemala Antigua brings a rounder, cocoa-leaning cup. Comparing the two shows how East African acidity and Central American balance differ on the same shelf, giving buyers a clear starting point.

Kenya sits on the equator, crossed by the East African Rift Valley, with high plateaus averaging about 1,500 meters and Mount Kenya at 5,199 meters. Coffee grows in six regions, including Thika, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga, harvested mainly from October to December with a smaller second season. The Guatemala Antigua bean completes the set, so tasting both side by side reveals origin, variety, and processing effects.

Starbucks' 13 coffee beans each have their own style, from Kenya in Africa to Antigua Guatemala in Central America, and each bean has a unique origin story and flavor profile. This article systematically sorts out the types and characteristics of Starbucks coffee beans, and focuses on analyzing the origin background, variety knowledge, and processing methods of Kenya coffee and Antigua Guatemala coffee. At the same time, combined with Front Street Coffee's roasting and brewing practices, it provides coffee lovers with a practical reference for bean selection and tasting.

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Starbucks has launched a total of 13 coffee beans, namely Fengwu Xiangyun Blend Coffee Beans, Pike Place Roast Coffee Beans, Kenya Coffee Beans, Starbucks Preferred Coffee Beans, Guatemala Antigua Coffee Beans, Ethiopia Coffee Beans, Colombia Coffee Beans, Starbucks Breakfast Blend Coffee Beans, Sumatra Coffee Beans, Decaf Xianglong Blend Coffee Beans, Italian Roast Coffee Beans, Espresso Roast Coffee Beans, and Verona Coffee Beans. What are the characteristics of these 13 beans? Front Street Coffee has selected several worth trying and recommends them to everyone.

Kenya Coffee Starbucks' Kenya coffee beans were introduced in 1971, and the African elephant on the packaging has always been a classic symbol of this coffee. Many coffee lovers like to use the African elephant to describe the mouthfeel of Kenyan beans—full-bodied and solid like an elephant.

Kenya is located in eastern Africa, with the equator passing through the middle of the country and the East African Rift Valley running north to south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Kenya has extensive plateaus, with an average altitude of about 1,500 meters. Mount Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya) in the center has an altitude of 5,199 meters, with snow on the summit all year round, and is the second-highest peak in Africa.

Coffee cultivation in Kenya is concentrated in six major producing regions: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga. The harvest period in these six major producing regions is divided into two seasons, with the main season from October to December each year and the secondary season from June to August.

Coffee Varieties Common coffee varieties in Kenya include SL28, SL34, and Ruiru11.

In 1922, Kenya established the Scott Laboratories to conduct specialized coffee cultivation research. Over the following decade or so, the laboratory selected SL28 and SL34, which were suitable for local cultivation, from 42 coffee varieties, laying the foundation for the development of Kenya's coffee industry. Both SL28 and SL34 are varieties selected after multiple generations of breeding. SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group and has the bright mouthfeel and rich acidity of the original Bourbon. SL34's lineage is closer to Typica, and its acidity is softer than that of SL28. At present, SL28 and SL34 account for 90% of Kenya's coffee production, and South America is also actively introducing SL28.

The birth of Ruiru11 stemmed from a global outbreak of coffee leaf rust. At that time, a large number of Arabica varieties were affected by the disease. In order to preserve coffee production, researchers developed the hybrid variety Ruiru11. It performs outstandingly in disease resistance, but its flavor quality is far inferior to that of SL28 and SL34.

Processing Method Kenya adopts a repeated cyclic washed process after fermentation. Processing is carried out on the day of harvest. First, the highest-quality coffee cherries are selected, pulped, and fermented for 24 hours, then washed with clean river water. Next, they are fermented again with clean river water for 24 hours and washed again. This cycle is repeated 3 times, and the entire process reaches 72 hours, so it is called the Kenyan 72-hour fermentation washed process, abbreviated as [K72].

Front Street Kenya Asalia Coffee Beans

Region: Thika producing region, Kenya Processing Plant: Asali Processing Plant Altitude: 1,550–1,750 meters Grade: AA TOP Variety: SL28, SL34 Processing Method: Kenyan 72-hour washed

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Parameters This Front Street Kenya coffee has plump and round beans. In order to fully showcase its bright and full-bodied acidity, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a light roast.

Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans charged Charge temperature: 200°C Turning point: 5'30", 154.3°C First crack: 8'52", 187.3°C Developed for 2'10'' after first crack, discharged at 191.6°C

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Suggestions Considering that this Front Street Kenya Asalia uses a medium-light roast, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will use a higher water temperature and a faster-flow dripper, mainly to extract its bright acidity with high temperature while not wanting over-extraction caused by high temperature, so a faster-flow V60 dripper is chosen.

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, 15g coffee: 225ml water Water temperature: 90°C–91°C Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (80% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve)

In the first stage, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (the electronic scale shows about 125g), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (the electronic scale shows about 225g), completing the pour in about 1 minute 40 seconds. Dripping is completed at 2'00", remove the dripper, and extraction is complete.

Flavor: This Front Street Kenya Asalia coffee bean shows an obvious aroma of smoked plum and cherry tomato in the dry fragrance, while the wet aroma presents a rich caramel note.

Guatemala Antigua Coffee Antigua is Guatemala's most famous coffee-producing region and is said to be the birthplace of Guatemalan coffee. Rich volcanic soil, lower humidity, ample sunlight, and cool nights constitute the characteristics of this area and make it Guatemala's most outstanding coffee. The valley around Antigua town (from which the region takes its name) is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Among them, Volcan Fuego is an active volcano! Its irregular eruptions give the soil in this producing region rich minerals; the producing region also retains a large amount of virgin forest, filling the soil with abundant potassium ions. Together, these allow the coffee plants in the Antigua producing region to grow healthily with an endless supply of nutrients.

The climate here is mild all year round, with stable humidity (65%). Such conditions make this the most suitable place for growing coffee. In addition, unlike other regions, the local area does not experience extreme climate changes during the alternation between dry and rainy seasons, allowing coffee to grow slowly in valleys above 1,500 meters. Because the Antigua producing region is a closed valley, it avoids severe soil erosion. All these uniquely favorable environmental conditions allow Antigua to consistently maintain stable, excellent quality.

Front Street Guatemala Antigua La Minita Estate La Flor Country: Guatemala Region: Antigua Estate: La Minita Estate Altitude: 1200-1600m Processing Method: Washed Variety: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Estate Introduction La Minita is a renowned green bean processing company in specialty coffee. Guatemala La Flor and Colombia Reserva del Patron are La Minita International Coffee Export Company, with the flagship estate Hacienda La Minita in Tarrazu, Costa Rica. The La Minita family established its own coffee brand in Guatemala, "La Flor del Cafe," which means "flower of coffee," translated into Chinese as "La Flor."

The La Minita family has a strong reputation for green bean processing and quality control, providing the industry's highest standards of cultivation and processing technology, and directly sending specialists to Guatemala to participate in quality control. La Minita La Flor is a star product under its banner, processed and produced by the well-known local Guatemalan processing plant Pastores mill. Its quality is under La Minita's strict supervision. From purchasing green beans to washing and sun-drying, all procedures are carried out according to La Minita's strict control protocols. The entire process from cultivation to packaging of La Flor coffee is strictly supervised. These cumbersome procedures are all to ensure that Pastores mill provides only the highest-quality coffee beans.

Coffee Varieties The varieties of this batch of Front Street Guatemala La Flor coffee purchased by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are Bourbon and Caturra. Bourbon is a natural mutation of Typica and ranks alongside Typica as an old variety of excellent quality. Its beans are slightly smaller and rounder than Typica. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, with a fresh lemon-citrus acidity in the mouthfeel, though slightly inferior to Typica and Bourbon in sweetness.

Processing Method This batch of Front Street Guatemala La Flor purchased by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is washed. First, the harvested coffee cherries are poured into a large water tank. Underdeveloped defective beans will float to the surface, while ripe, plump fruits will sink to the bottom. At this point, the defective beans (fruits) floating on the surface are removed.

Next, the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit are removed with a pulping machine. At this time, a slippery layer of mucilage still clings to the coffee beans. The coffee beans with mucilage are then placed into a fermentation tank for 16–36 hours, during which microorganisms break down the mucilage. After fermentation is complete, a large amount of clean water is used to remove the remaining mucilage from the coffee beans.

Finally, the washed coffee beans are dried in the sun to reduce their moisture content to 10–14%. Then a huller is used to remove the parchment layer, completing the processing.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Parameters This Front Street Guatemala Antigua La Flor bean is of high quality with plump bean color. In order to highlight the bright acidity of this Front Street La Flor coffee while retaining Guatemala's unique coffee flavor, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a medium-light roast.

Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans charged Charge temperature: 200°C Turning point: 4'50, 149°C First crack: 8'37", 188°C Developed for 1'50'' after first crack, discharged at 195.3°C

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Suggestions Considering that this Front Street Guatemala La Flor coffee uses a medium-light roasting method, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will use a higher water temperature and a faster-flow dripper, mainly because it wants to extract its bright acidity with high temperature but does not want over-extraction caused by high temperature, so a faster-flow V60 dripper is chosen. Coffee dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Water temperature: 91°C Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (78% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve)

In the first stage, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (the electronic scale shows about 125g), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (the electronic scale shows about 225g), completing the pour in about 1 minute 40 seconds. Dripping is completed at 2'10", remove the dripper, and extraction is complete.

Flavor: The unique floral aroma combined with a smooth and fresh citrus taste interweaves floral and fruity sweetness into a full-bodied yet perfectly harmonious character, resembling the lingering finish of red wine with a slight smoky note, laying out the silky, elegant style of Front Street Guatemala La Flor coffee.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.