KENYA GACHATHA AA

Situated in the Central Province of Kenya, Gachatha is a coop located on the slopes of the Aberdare mountain range, about 150km north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. After picking, the ripe cherries are brought to the factory by smallholder farmers, before it undergoes processing to remove the skin and pulp – known as the wet processing method. The nearest watersource is the Kangunu stream, and the factory is dependent on electrical pumps to move water to reservoir tanks before using it for processing. Water is also recirculated for conservation. The factory is using a disc pulper with three sets of discs to remove the skin and fruit from the inner parchment layer that is protecting the green coffee bean. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight to break down the sugars, before it is cleaned, soaked and spread out on raised drying tables. Time on the drying tables depends on climate, ambient temperature and total production volumes currently undergoing processing. Drying may take from 7 to 15 days in total.