In less than a hundred years, four varietals of coffee have emerged from Kenya.
Although some of them faced some critical phases dealing with CBD (Coffee Berry Disease), the number is still astonishing.
Read on to find out what have researchers found in Batian Variety.
Long Coffee Tradition
Kenyan coffee is worldly re known.
Kenyan coffee is worldly re known for some breeds called SL-28 and SL-34. They were the African promise of the best coffee plant in the world.
By 1930 the combination of draught resistance and stunning flavor really put it on the map. CBD put an end to the illusion and took almost 60% of some harvests.
Later came Ruiru 11, which was resistant to CBD and high in yields, but the cup profile was nowhere close the SLs variety.
The solution at the moment was to cross the varieties and while taste and profile improved a lot, it wasn´t even close to pure SLs.
Batian, A Solution?
By the year 2010, the Coffee Research Institute introduced the Batian variety.
By the year 2010, the Coffee Research Institute introduced the Batian variety. Just like the crossing of breeds and the pedigree in Boran bulls, coffee seeds can be combined to obtain the best results.
The variety is much close genetically to the stellar-tasting SL-28 than it is to Ruiru 11.
In recent tests, it was cupping even better than some SL-28 varieties.
It was then a cause of much discussion the fact that it wasn´t matched with the best SL-28 but regular ones.
In tests for resistance against coffee leaf rust and CBD, it showed great strength and a high-yield level per plant.