Gitesi is a privately owned processing station, led by father and son Alexis and Aime Gahizi since 2005. Alexis originally came from the Karongi region of Rwanda and has already been engaged in coffee as his family cultivated it for generations. Being familiar with the life of smallholders,

Alexis’s relationship with local farmers is solid and straightforward. Thanks to this strong bond and, last but not least, the potential year-end bonus, some 1800 producers are selling their coffee cherries at Gitesi. Once delivered the cherries are immediately sorted and floated, then laid out on

the drying tables in a single layer, with no overlapping cherries, to ensure even air circulation. During the drying period, Aime and his team covered the beds with shaded nets when the sunlight was too intense. Plus, while the coffee is on the drying bed, a team hand-sorted every day to remove any

defective cherries.