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Kenyan microlots are traceable to either the factory or, when possible, the individual farm level, and are selected based on cup quality. Since most Kenyan farmers cultivate just 1/8 to 1/4 hectare of land, they deliver harvested cherries to local factories for processing. There, cherries are sorted and combined into daily lots representing that day’s deliveries. During harvest, our green buyer spends time in Kenya cupping numerous samples and selecting the highest-scoring lots—typically fewer than 100 bags—to offer as microlots.
Gatomboya Factory is managed by the Barichu Farmer Cooperative Society, which includes around 1,000 smallholder members, with approximately 900 actively delivering coffee. In addition to coffee, farmers grow crops such as macadamia, corn, bananas, and beans. At the factory, cherries are carefully sorted, depulped, fermented overnight, washed, and then dried on raised beds for 10–12 days.