Kenya Gatina AA Nº 275

Gatina Washing station was established in 1968 close to the town of Keratin in the county of Nyeri, with the slopes of Mt Kenya to the west and the Aberdares Mountains to the east. The station is managed by the Mugaga Farmers Cooperative Society, made up of 790 members. Of which 280 are women.

Each farmer owns only a few hundred trees, about 1/10th of a hectare. The station receives cherry from around 142 hectares total, and the role of the ‘cherry clerk’ is to ensure that only the ripest cherries are pulped. Which makes it vital for these farmers to use and implement speciality coffee processing practices to maximise the value per kilogram of cherry picked.

The washing station has tried to make things easier still for the the more distant farmers by setting up 4 collection points for the hand picked coffee cherries. Thus lowering the transport burdens on the farmers.

Once the chosen cherries are pulped using a three disc pulper they are left overnight to ferment. Following this fermentation process the coffee is then washed in fresh water. It then spends the next 7 to 15 days on raised drying beds being turned frequently to ensure even drying of the parchment, and covered during the hottest parts of the day to maintain steady temperatures. Employees also visually inspect drying parchment for any damaged or discoloured beans. Once the desired moisture content is reached, the coffee is transported to the dry mill before shipping.