Guama AA

We’ve got something for you that we have been waiting for for a while. Due to the ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea there have been many delays in the shipment of coffees from East Africa, so we are super excited to finally share the first of many Kenyan coffees with you! This cup is bursting with blackcurrant and citrus fruits with a hint of buttery vanilla.

Guama Coffee Washing Station, or “factory” as they’re known in Kenya, is owned and operated by Baragwi Farmers' Cooperative Society. This smallholder farmer's owned factory was started in 1986 with over 3500 farmers. The size of the farm in this catchment of this coop is typically a little less than normal with the average farmer possessing 300 coffee bushes.

The cherry is delivered at the wet mill where it is handsorted to remove any foreign matter and blacks then weighed and recorded. It is then introduced to a cherry hopper to be pulped.

Once pulped using a 4 disc pulper, cherries are delivered to one of the factory’s fermentation tanks where it will ferment for about 16-24 hours depending on the ambient temperature at that time. The coffee is then fully washed on gradient water channels to remove traces of all mucilage.

The parchment will then be delivered to the  factory’s raised drying beds where it will dry slowly over the course of around 10-18 days. During very hot days it is covered using a shade net.

The dried parchment is then transported to their own mill where it is milled and graded to different grades within 3 days.

Origin: Kenya
Region: Kianyaga
Factory: Baragwi
Producer: Various smallholders
Variety: SL28, SL34, Ruiri 11, Batian
Process: Washed