Gikirima is one of five coffee factories owned by members of the Kibugu Farmers Cooperative Society. Around 1100 small-holder farmers deliver coffee cherries to Gikirima. Most farmers have 1-hectare plots & grow coffee alongside tea, macadamia, bananas & maize. Farmers pick ripe cherries & deliver them to the factory where they are washed & sorted for defects, de-pulped, dry-fermented overnight, washed, soaked in fresh water & then dried on raised beds for 7 to 15 days.
region Kirinyaga County
farm/farmer Kibugu Farmers Cooperative Society
altitude 1800 meters
crop 2025
cultivar SL28, Ruiru 11, Batian
process Washed
SL28 was bred by Scott Laboratories in 1931 using various coffees from Ethiopia, Sudan & Yemen. Ruiru 11 was bred in 1985 at the Coffee Research Station in Ruiru. The aim was for a coffee plant with high resistance to coffee leaf rust & coffee berry disease. Batian, [named after the highest peak of Mt. Kenya] was bred at the Coffee Research Station for disease resistance & released in 2010.
Coffee cherries at Gikirima washing station.
Dried coffee beans at Gikirima Washing Station.
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.