Small farms, with only a few hundred trees per farmer, allow farming families to more easily apply specialty coffee cultivation techniques. Thanks to their concentration and with the support of the Mugaga Farmers Cooperative Society , the typical Kenyan profile of this coffee is carefully preserved from the members' fields to the dry mill and beyond. The Gatina Washing Station is located a few kilometers from the town of Karatina, in Nyeri County. The station was built in 1968, nestled between the western slopes of Mount Kenya and the eastern slopes of the Aberdares Mountains. It is managed by the Mugaga Farmers Cooperative Society. Currently, the station receives cherry from 790 members. Of these, 280 – more than 30% – are women. Farmers manually select the ripe cherries and deliver them directly to Gatina, or to one of the four collection points created to alleviate transportation costs for more distant farms. The cherries are hand-selected upon receipt, and damaged, overripe, and underripe fruits are removed before pulping. The role of the cherry picker, who must ensure that only the ripest cherries are processed, is of paramount importance. Farmers cannot submit inferior quality cherries and must take rejected cherries with them to dry on beds or mats. These cherries can then be presented at the end of the season as mbuni-grade cherries, at a much lower price. In this way, farmers are incentivized to harvest only cherries that are truly at their peak. The coffee cherries are pulped using a three-disc pulper and then fermented overnight. All the water for pulping and fermentation is drawn from fresh rivers flowing from the many streams of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares Mountains. After fermentation, the coffee is washed in clean water, soaked, and spread out to dry on raised drying beds. The parchment dries for 7 to 15 days. During the drying process, the parchment is frequently turned to promote even drying and covered during the hottest part of the day to maintain stable temperatures. Staff also inspect the drying parchment and remove any damaged or discolored beans.

Origin: Kenya Region: Nyeri Producer: Gatina Farmers' Cooperative Society Variety: SL-28, SL-34, Batian, Ruiru Altitude: -1600m Processing Method: - Washed Harvests: May-July

Preparation suggestion (Brewing)

The Glass: The vibrant acidity of lemon and the elegance of black tea blend with succulent red grape, the sweetness of raspberry, the delicate floral notes of rose, and a smooth caramel finish .