Fresh, juicy, and full of fruity flavors. That’s exactly the kind of espresso the Kenyan Gicherori from the Dutch roaster Friedhats delivers. The flavor profile opens with the juicy sweetness of ripe apricots, pleasantly enlivened by fresh, slightly tart rhubarb. The overall profile is then rounded out by notes of brown sugar, which give the coffee a smoother and sweeter finish. Gicherori thus offers an espresso with a distinctive fruity character, pleasant acidity, and a sweetness that beautifully ties the individual flavors together.
The beans come from the Kibugu area in the Embu region of Kenya. Behind this lot are 1, 062 small-scale farmers whose harvest is sent to the Gicherori Factory, which is part of the Kibugu Farmers Cooperative. Thanks to this collaboration, the harvests from many smaller farms can be combined into a single lot and then processed together. The individual beans therefore do not come from a single producer but represent the work of the local farming community.
This coffee combines four varieties : SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, and Batian. While SL28 and SL34 are traditional Kenyan varieties, Ruiru 11 is a more modern hybrid that stands out for its higher yields and disease resistance. However, its weakness is a shallow root system, which is why some growers graft it onto the roots of SL varieties, thereby combining the advantages of both types of coffee trees. The beans were processed using the washed method, in which the coffee cherries are stripped of their skin and pulp, and any remaining mucilage is removed from the beans before drying. It is precisely this processing method that helps bring out a clean flavor profile, in which fresh fruitiness blends with a pleasant sweetness. Friedhats chose an espresso roast, so you can enjoy all these notes when brewing with a lever-operated espresso machine.
- Producer: Gicherori Factory / Kibugu Farmers Cooperative
- Altitude: 1,650–1,800 m above sea level