Gitare AB – Kenya

ORIGIN

Despite sharing a border with the ‘birthplace of coffee,’ Ethiopia, Kenya is a celebrated coffee producing country with a characteristic cup profile of its own. The first coffee plants were brought to Kenya by Scottish and French missionaries during the 19^th century. In the 1930s, Scotch Labs selected strains from Mocha, in Yemen, to develop the famous SL28 and SL 34 cultivars that are characteristic of the exceptional coffees that this beautiful country has to offer. Today, coffee continues to be a mainstay of Kenya’s exports to the world and is a source of livelihood for many smallholder producers. 

PRODUCER

The Gitare Washing Station is part of the Kimaratia Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Kiambu County. Benefitting from high elevations, Kiambu enjoys rich volcanic loam soils and excellent growing conditions. The majority of co-operative members farm on plots smaller than a hectare, typically with fewer than 400 bushes per producer. Yields are modest—averaging around 200 kilograms of red cherry per farmer—but the emphasis is on producing high quality coffee. Many farmers also grow avocados and macadamias, which provide shade and additional household income.

Gitare’s farmers rely primarily on traditional varieties, with around 80% of the crop made up of the celebrated SL34 and SL28 strains. These are complemented by newer disease-resistant cultivars such as Ruiru 11 and Batian. The main harvest takes place from October to December, with a smaller fly crop in May and July. Processing at the wet mill is carried out with precision; ripe red cherries are carefully sorted, pulped, and fermented for 16 to 20 hours in tanks depending on the temperature.

Once fermentation is complete, the parchment is washed in clean water channels to ensure clarity in the cup before being dried slowly on raised beds for 12 to 20 days, with shade nets used to protect against excessive heat. After drying, parchment from Gitare is delivered to the dry mill in Ruiru, where it is hulled and graded. From there, it is transferred to a licensed warehouse in Nairobi, ready for export to specialty markets.

ROAST

Sourced through our exporting partners at Falcon Specialty, we love this clean coffee for its vibrancy in the cup. Roasted energetically for filter, you may find aromatic notes of vanilla with a stone-fruit like sweetness and a creamy lemon curd-like finish. Delicious across a range of filter or full immersion brew methods.