Gitesi W.

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. During the wet process, the coffee cherries are first de-pulped and then the coffee beans, which are still covered with a sticky mucilage layer, are dry-fermented for 10 to 12 hours. This is followed by grading in the washing channels and then soaking in clean water for 16 hours. The coffee is initially spread on shaded pre-drying tables, where it undergoes manual sorting and then dried on African beds also covered with nets for about 15 days.