Kenya is known for growing some of the most intense coffees of the world. The coffees are rich in fruity acidity while maintaining a heavy body. Some people believe this is drawn from the red volcanic soils surrounding Mount Kenya. The total area under coffee cultivation in Kenya is estimated at 160,000 hectares. The largest part of the land is used by smallholder farmers who assign themselves to cooperatives. Gatomboya is one of the four washing stations in the Barichu Farmers Cooperative Society. The others factories are Karatina, Karindundu and Gaturiri. The Barichu FCU services 4000 smallholder coffee producers. Gatomboya specifically services around a quarter of those. Apart from its outstanding flavour complexity, one of the reasons why people like buying coffees from Gatomboya is the strong management of the cooperative society behind the mill. Barichu is known for taking good care of its member producers and the nearby community. The Cooperative Society built a coffee shop on the factory grounds that services travellers on the nearby road. The income of this shop helps lower the overhead costs for the management of the cooperative and factories.

The washing station lies close to Karatina town in Nyeri county. Nyeri coffee is well-known for its great quality and intense, complex flavour profiles. Slightly over 80% of all coffee production in Nyeri comes from smallholder farmers. The majority of them make up the county’s 23 different cooperative societies