Kenya Gatuya AA

Murang'a lies on the slopes of the Aberdare Mountains, and it is slightly cooler here than in the rest of Kenya's coffee-growing regions. The soil is deep red and rich in minerals, allowing the coffee to ripen slowly. The beans come from the Gatuya Coffee Factory—one of two stations owned by the New Murarandia Farmers Cooperative Society, which brings together roughly 3,500 small-scale producers. Most of them farm on very small plots, and each brings their freshly harvested cherries directly to the station. And this is where the interesting part begins.

In Kenya, the delivered harvest is sorted and divided into individual lots, which are then cupped and selected—Gatuya AA is a microlot selected specifically based on the result in the cup, not on what happened to arrive. The processing is classic Kenyan: the cherries are pulped the same day, the beans ferment for 24–48 hours, are thoroughly washed, and then soaked in clean water for 12 to 72 hours. It is precisely this soaking process that gives Kenyan washed coffees their renowned clarity and vibrancy. Drying then takes place slowly on raised beds.