Githembe AA - Kenya - Espresso - Washed Coffee

TASTE NOTES
Blackberry, Red Apple, Mandarin

VARIETAL
SL 28, SL 34, Batian, Ruiru 11

PROCESS
Natural

ALTITUDE
1600 - 1800 masl

This Kenyan comes from the farm Githembe which is owned by the Thiririka Farmers Cooperative Society, a large collective of 1500 active members. The cooperative runs a group of three farms; Githembe which is used for cherry delivery, pulping and washing, Kiganjo which is for coffee drying only and a third farm called Ndundu. The cherries are sorted after being pulped and then fermented for 12-14 hours followed by 7-14 days of drying.

The usual harvesting months in Kenya are between October and late December/early January. The following 3 months tend to be dry and this gives the trees a chance to get ready to flower in the upcoming, typically wetter, months after March. Over the past few years, the region has seen some of these dry months become rainy due to the ever changing climate. This causes the tree to flower early but with fewer flowers, resulting in a much lowered volume of cherry at the end of the year. The unpredictable change in weather affects not only the growth of the cherry but also the rhythm of the producers on the land, with times for shrub management and pruning becoming disjointed.