Beverage
SL34
A tier
SL34 is a Kenyan Scott Laboratories Coffea arabica selection from the same era as SL28, adapted to higher rainfall zones with strong cup quality and somewhat different agronomic fit. It shares Kenya’s washed-coffee legacy, with tall plants and susceptibility to major diseases, often field-blended with SL28 on estates and cooperatives. Cups show classic Kenyan brightness—citrus, blackcurrant, brown sugar, and winey complexity—with full juiciness and clean finish. SL34 appears in Kenyan AA/AB lots and specialty separations, roasted for filter excellence and lively espresso.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Scott Labs released SL34 among numbered selections for Kenyan highland conditions.
Estates in wetter districts favoured SL34 alongside drought-oriented SL28.
Cooperative wet mills mixed SL34 and SL28 in the lots that built Kenya’s export brand.
Disease epidemics pushed breeding toward resistant hybrids while SL34 quality kept demand.
Specialty traceability programmes began naming SL34 when farms could separate cultivars.
SL34 remained a reference cultivar for bright East African arabica cup profiles.