Gichathaini, Kenya
”We’re now releasing Gichathini from the Nyeri region, known for its intense cup profile. It’s our first coffee from the region this year and probably our most acidity driven Kenyan coffee so far, this is a personal favourite. Gichathaini has a lot of rhubarb and gooseberry notes and a long, vibrant aftertaste.” /Joanna Alm, Headroaster
The Gichathaini Factory (wetmill) is part of the Gikanda Cooperative Society in Nyeri in Central Kenya. It is mainly made up of smallholder's farms, where each farmer has an average of 100 trees. They are organized in Cooperative Societies which act as umbrella organizations for the factories, where the smallholders deliver their coffee cherries for processing.
In Nyeri, there is a lot of competition among the farmers and they want to have a better price for the high quality they deliver, this is possible due to the traditional auction system in place. Many of the farmers are surrounded by several wet mills and are free to choose where they want to deliver their cherries as members. The better factories will then attract more farmers by producing coffee which receives the highest prices, as well as giving a high payback rate. This can in some cases be about 90% of the sales price after cost of marketing and preparation is deducted.
Wetmill: Gitchathaini Factory Location: Nyeri
Varietal: SL 28 and SL 34 Picked: Dec 2015 - Jan 2016
Elevation: 1800 masl
Processing: Cherries are hand sorted for unripes and overripes by the farmers before they go to production. The coffee is fermented for 16-24 hours under closed shade. After fermentation the coffees are washed and again graded by density in washing channels and are then soaked under clean water for 16-18 hours.
Drying: Sundried up to 21 days on raised African drying beds, covered in plastic over midday and at night.
Soil: Mainly Nitisol. Nitisols occur in highlands and on volcanic steep slopes. They are developed from volcanic rocks and have better chemical and physical properties than other tropical soils.
Flavour description: Juicy and acidity driven cup with light body. Notes of rhubarb and gooseberry with a long vibrant aftertaste
