Avatar Coffee Roasters Blog

Gigesa is a small town in the Danbi Uddo Kebele, not far from the town of Shakiso in the Guji Zone of Ethiopia. The Gigesa washing station shares the name of the town and collects cherries from 850 coffee growers in the area, each holding approximately 2-5 hectares of farm land, all over 1800 meters above sea level. Freshly picked cherries are delivered to the Gigesa washing station and immediately put into a “floatation tank” to separate lower quality cherries. The coffee is then left under shade for 3-5 hours to let the surface water dry off before ultimately being...

Cherry is selectively handpicked and then pulped in Mariri’s hand pulper. Coffee is dry fermented for 16 to 24 hours and, after being washed, soaks in clean water for a further 24 hours. Wet parchment dries on raised beds for 10 to 18 days. Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AB beans are those that are between screen size 15 and 18 meaning that beans are between 6 and 7 millimeters in size. Though coffee growing had a relatively late start in Kenya, the industry has gained and maintained a impressive reputation. Since the start of production, Kenyan coffee has...