TIP: You can save products to
your favorites list if you log in
One would like to imagine that Rwanda's post-genocide travails are mostly over, but this tiny, landlocked neighbor of East Africa's powerhouse coffee countries faces many challenges still. Coffee export is very important to the economy, and many farmers struggle on having, lost family members, treasure, workers, etc. Climatic and soil conditions are ideal for agriculture and many of the intact production facilities are slowly coming back to life.
The Ngororero District, near Lake Kivu, is home to two excellent washing stations, Kageyo and Gitesi, which we have offered over the years for their distinctive taste and high-quality production values. As recently as 2011, Kageyo won the Rwanda Cup of Excellence, but its fortunes have seesawed, mostly for economic reasons. As part of the comeback process, our import partners Sweet Maria's in Oakland and the export NGO which infused the small cooperative with vital cash and guarantees are continuing a nascent subsidy program of $.10 a pound-sold which goes directly to the co-op.
This fully washed process, raised bed-dried coffee comprises indigenous Bourbon cultivars and is grown at substantial elevations around the mill, averaging around 2000 meters. All told, production of the lots was forty-four 60 kg sacks (net under 5900 lbs.). The cup character is “distinctly Rwanda” but will remind many of a very sweet Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia. Best experienced in pourover for the palette of blueberry, cane sugar, clove and chocolate, but a fascinating and complex single origin espresso as well.
