John’s estate is part of the Hands On Coffee project, aiming to reduce this impact through careful use of artificial fertiliser, and optimising water usage for processing.

JOHN MICHUKi

Washed Gakira

John Michuki produces some exceptionally clean and crisp expressions of Kenyan terroir at Gakira, which is planted with mainly SL28, and a small amount of the rust resistant Ruiru 11 hybrid. Due to the dominance of the washed process in Kenya, and the many floating, sorting and soaking steps often used, the water usage here is incredibly high, much higher per kilo of coffee produced than any other country we buy coffee from. Kenyan cooperatives also often have affiliations with large fertiliser companies, giving members subsidised and direct access to chemical fertilisers and pesticides, meaning these are often used to a very high degree in the Kenyan coffee lands. The system of grading, where large bean ‘AA’ lots fetch the highest prices, also lead many producers to fertilise very aggressively in order to grow larger fruit, and therefore increase their income. All of this leads to a great deal of contaminated waste water from processing, and fertiliser runoff from farmlands. If not dealt with carefully, this can be catastrophic for vital Kenyan groundwater supplies. This is part of what the Hands On Coffee project aims to change. They often work with individual producers rather than on a cooperative level, meaning less influence from large fertiliser companies, and more traceability. Furthermore, they are championing the natural process as a method of increasing quality, creating a point of difference in a washed coffee dominated market, which in theory leads to higher prices.

This coffee is a washed SL28 and Ruiru 11 blend, with a delicate tea-like structure lifted by fresh red fruit notes.