Giakanja | SL 28 Washed

COUNTRYKenya
ORIGINNyeri
VILLAGE Giakanja
VARIETYSL 34, SL 28 (90%), Batian, Ruiru 11
PROCESSCherries are pulped, floated through channels, soaked for 12-24 hours, skin dried, moved to raised beds for drying
HARVEST21
QUALITY SCORE85
ALTITUDE1705-1800 masl

Giakanja sits on the highlands of Nyeri County, fully 6,000 ft above sea level, lifted by the Aberdare range to the West. It’s about 5 hours north of Nairobi and might be the most infamous of Kenya’s central provinces.

Giakanja has long been contributing to that reputation. The factory was erected in 1968, only five years after independence, and as is typical of Kenyan factories in this part of the country. It’s built around a large 2-stage Mckinnon pulper, that channels into tens of fermentation tanks. Generous vistas are available at the top of the hill by the cherry hoppers. Bright baby blue paint on the channels and tanks contrasts against a lush rolling landscape. The tanks are piped down to a pump at the bottom of the hill, where the slurry either gets sent to holding tanks (used if the factory was out of drying capacity and it needed to preserve parchment) or onto skin drying tables for primary drying. There are endless rows of steel-framed raised-bed drying tables that undulate with the valley.