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Kenyan coffee varieties

Bourbon Bourbon was first brought to Kenya for planting. In the 1950s, the then agricultural research institution Scott Laboratory selected two excellent hybrids, SL-28 and SL-34, through unremitting efforts, subverting the long-standing prejudice of artificial breeding without excellent natural varieties. SL-28 and SL-34 help Kenyan coffee to form its own unique flavor characteristics and establish a perfect reputation in the coffee industry.

Like the choice of other coffee producing countries, although SL-28 and SL-34 have stood the test of time and cultivated generation after generation of faithful pumps for Kenyan coffee, the Kenyan government and the Coffee Research Institute (Coffee Research Foundation) have begun to promote a new variety, Ruiri 11, for the sake of coffee yield and disease resistance. The promoters assure coffee lovers that the new variety still has the classic flavor of Kenyan coffee. However, the continuous efforts have not won the recognition of coffee gluttons, who agree that the new varieties lack taste and that the future of Ruiru11 remains to be seen.

In addition to the prestigious traditional Arabica coffee, robusta coffee is also produced in the western lowlands of Kenya.