Gicherori AA

Gicherori Factory sits on the slopes of Mount Kenya in the Manyatta division of Embu County. Rich volcanic soil, an annual rainfall of almost 2,000mm, and an abundance of SL 28 and SL 34 varieties help ensure quality coffee production in the area.

Kibugu Farmer’s Cooperative Society started in 1994. Current membership stands at 1,200, with the area around Gicherori densely populated with farmers who have planted 100 to 1,000 coffee trees.

After picking, members delivers the fresh coffee cherries to the mill, where they are depulped (the fruit skin and pulp removed mechanically), then fermented in large tanks and washed with stored clean water. The waste water is cleaned before being led back into nature, which is common at most mills.

After washing, the coffee is dried on typical African raised beds that allow good air circulation between the beans. Beans are dried to 11-13% moisture content and then brought to the Central Kenya Coffee Mill in Nyeri for grading, sorting, and export.