Embu is a coffee region that tends to not be in the spotlight as much (in favour of neighbouring Nyeri and Kirinyaga) mainly due to a much smaller production, but it's certainly not because of quality. This example from Gicherori (Kibugu Farmers Cooperative Society) has the jammy and vibrant acidity we look forward to in the most exciting coffees out of Kenya, but with the added complexity that reminds us both of things like rooibos. This lot needed to be here for our Kenya release season
Gicherori AA
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Gicherori factory is a relatively newly established washing station (1997 compared with others decades earlier), establishing itself as a hub for the Kibugu Farmers Cooperative Society (F.C.S.). Today, approximately 1,050 smallholder farmers channel their cherry through the facility, delivering their pickings same day. The operation doesn't stand alone: Coffee Management Services (CMS), a long established marketing agent, actively supports both the factory and its member farmers through hands-on education.
Processing
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Kenya's coffee landscape is fundamentally shaped by smallholders who deliver to central washing stations known as factories that have made washed coffees their signature. Estates have similarly built their reputations on these meticulously processed lots. While Kenyan producers employ variations of the washed process, they share a distinctive approach: a soaking step initially practiced to put coffee in a holding pattern while drying beds are freed up. This soaking step ultimately sets them apart. The process begins with selective picking and same-day depulping, followed by fermentation in open-air concrete or cement tanks for 24–48 hours. Co-operative members who work at the station then subject the coffee to rigorous washing through water channels before submerging it underwater for 12–72 hours. Finally, the beans spread across raised beds to complete their transformation through drying.
