About This Coffee
Gicherori Factory is situated in Kibugu, Embu County, on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. It is operated by the Kibugu Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS), along with Kathkwa, Ndunduri, Gikirima and Ngerwe factories. Several of these are well-known within the specialty community for their focus on exceptional quality.
Established in 1994, Gicherori works with around 1,100 local farmers who grow Ruiru 11, SL28, SL38 and Batian at altitudes reaching up to 1,800 meters above sea level. The area around the factory is densely populated, and most farmers tend between 100 and 1,000 coffee trees.
Gicherori has long-term goals to boost coffee production by promoting sustainable practices and expanding access to training and education for its members. The factory also maintains a demonstration plot that farmers can visit to learn and compare techniques with those on their own farms.
Cultivation
Producer members in Gicherori Factory cultivate primarily SL28, SL34, Batian and Ruiru 11. The FCS encourages a sustainable approach to cultivation, with minimal environmental impact where possible, and provides training and education for its members.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee cherries are carefully handpicked at peak ripeness by smallholder farmers and delivered to the factory for processing. The cherries undergo a Fully washed method, where they are first sorted, then pulped to remove the outer skin. Parchment is then fermented in concrete tanks for 12 to 16 hours, depending on temperature and climate conditions, to break down the mucilage. After fermentation, parchment is washed through grading channels using fresh water. During the peak season, coffee is usually soaked for 24 hours before before being transferred to raised beds for drying.
The drying process lasts 7 to 14 days, with workers frequently turning the parchment and covering it during the hottest part of the day to ensure even drying and prevent defects.
AA Grade
Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AA beans are the largest size. AA grade coffees are those that are 17/18 screen size, meaning that they are larger than 7.2 millimeters.
About SL28 & SL34
SL28 and SL34 were two of the cultivars released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) during the height of SAL’s research in Kenya in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the cultivars of choice for most growers thanks to their deep root structure that allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation. SL varieties also had higher yields than the French Bourbon rootstock that they replaced and were known to be somewhat more disease resistant.
About Batian
Developed by Kenya's Coffee Research Institute in 2010, Batian is named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya and is resistant to both coffee berry disease (CBD) and coffee leaf rust (CLR). The variety has the added benefit of early maturity – cropping after only two years. Some challenges (such as vegetative structure) have prevented it from becoming widespread so far, but its popularity is certainly growing.
About Ruiru 11
Ruiru 11, a hybrid of Catimor and SL cultivars, is both Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) and Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) resistant. Plus, it can be planted at a much higher density than the SL varieties, making optimal use of small plots of land.
Ruiru 11 has slowly ‘taken root’ across most of Kenya’s coffee growing landscape. The only issues were that with a shallower root structure, many farmers found the plant less hardy in drought conditions, and the trees required a more intense feeding program. Over time, farmers have found that by grafting Ruiru-11 to SL varieties they could take advantage of SL trees’ expansive root system and still reap the increased yields and higher immunity to disease of Ruiru-11.
Due to the grafted Ruiru-11’s growing popularity, most farms in Kenya today, both big and small, have a mixture of Ruiru-11 and SL varieties. As SL trees age, many farmers are opting to turn more towards Ruiru-11 (or the grafting solution) thanks to its ease of use and higher resistance to diseases.
Source: https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/ruiru-11 & https://sucafina.com/na/news/think-you-know-kenya-coffee-varieties-think-again
Coffee in Kenya
Though coffee growing had a relatively late start in Kenya, the industry has gained and maintained a impressive reputation. Since the start of production, Kenyan coffee has been recognized for its high-quality, meticulous preparation and exquisite flavors. Our in-country sister company, Sucafina Kenya, works with farmers across the country to ensure these exceptional coffees gain the accolades they deserve.
Today, more than 600,000 smallholders farming fewer than 5 acres compose 99% of the coffee farming population of Kenya. Their farms cover more than 75% of total coffee growing land and produce nearly 70% of the country’s coffee. These farmers are organized into hundreds of Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS), all of which operate at least one factory. The remainder of annual production is grown and processed by small, medium and large land estates. Most of the larger estates have their own washing stations.
Most Kenyan coffees are fully washed and dried on raised beds. The country still upholds its reputation for high quality and attention to detail at its many washing stations. The best factories employ stringent sorting practices at cherry intake, and many of them have had the same management staff in place for years.