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Kibirizi Washing stations

About this coffee

This fully washed lot is sourced from exclusively smallholder farmers supplying Kibirizi washing station, a wetmill operated by Gihanga Coffee Company in Nyanza district. Kibirizi sits at around 2,020masl, making it among Rwanda’s highest altitude mills. Gihanga works with around 1,000 small farmers in the region. These producers cultivate the bourbon variety on farms averaging around 1.5 ha in size.

THE REGION

Kibirizi sector is situated in Nyanza district in Rwanda's Southern Province. Nyanza was fora short time the capital of the Kingdom of Rwanda, from 1958 until the 1961-62 revolution which saw the abolition of the royal family

Like much of Rwanda - “the land of a thousand hills” - the terrain is mountainous, rugged and exceptionally beautiful. Rich volcanic soils, plentiful sunshine, and tropical rainfall provide exceptional conditions for the cultivation of arabica, and the Bourbon variety particularly excels in the high elevations of Rwanda’s mountains

The Process

Ripe cherries are delivered to the wetmill for careful sorting and pulping, before fermentation for 36-48 hours, depending on the climactic conditions. After this point the parchment coffee is thoroughly washed and graded by bean density before being dried in the sun on raised African beds for 12 - 15 days (until the ideal moisture level has been reached). In the daytime the parchment needs to be raked and turned periodically to ensure a consistent drying process. The coffee is also covered between 12pm and 3pm to protect it from the hot sun, and at night time to protect it from rainfall and moisture. Once the coffee has dried to the right level it is transported to Addis Ababa for dry- milling, grading, intensive sorting and handpicking, before being bagged in GrainPro for export.

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