From: Nyeri, Kenya
Varietal: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian
Process: Washed
Notes: Cotton Candy Grape, D'anjou Pear, Sugarcane Juice
125g whole coffee beans
Processing
Cherries are picked and depulped the same day. Fermented in open-air concrete tanks for 24-48 hours. Washed again and soaked underwater for another 12-72 hours. Finally coffees are dried on raised beds.
Taste
My love for Kenyan coffees continues with this sweet and juicy bean. This coffee has a fun profile that leans into sugary sweet cotton candy grapes that are balanced with some tartaric and malic acidity. The finish reminds me of fresh sugar cane juice from a Vietnamese restaurant. This is a good bean. Over days of tasting we have experienced notes of cotton candy grape, d’anjou pear, sugar cane juice, green plumcot.
Region
This offering, Gachatha AB. also enters yet another county new to us, Nyeri. Nyeri is situated between Mt. Kenya and the Aberadare Mountains at 1800 MASL, creating a perfect geographic and climactic area for coffee production. This area is historically the center of Kenya's coffee production due to the rich soil and fresh water moving through the area from the mountains. This region is home to the Kikuyu people, who have resided between the mountains for centuries. This area is rich with forests, wildlife, eucalyptus, bamboo, and rainforests.
Washing Station
Gachatha factory is operated by the Gachatha Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) and sits on 391 acres between the villages of Muthuaini, Thiriku, Gachenge, and Kianjau. It was built in 1963, and its current membership is about 1,050, with roughly 900 active members. The factory has nine permanent staff, and hires around 25 seasonal workers to oversee receipt and processing during the harvest season. Permanent staff is in charge of key roles such as receiving and weighing cherry, registering complaints and concerns, and managing farmer payments. The average farmer has about 300 coffee trees, on less than one hectare of land. Farmers here typically grow other crops as well as coffee, as well. The area surrounding Gachatha is densely populated, which requires the factory to take particular precautions with regards to waste water and pollutants. The factory has soak pits for water treatment to avoid contamination with fresh-water sources, and the community takes care to preserve the indigenous plant life in the area, to protect local bird and animal species.
