Muhari Washing Station

GIHANGA COFFEE is back baby!! Our nearest and dearest friends in Rwanda, Kevin Nkunzimana and Audace Ngabonziza, are at it again, bringing us the finest that the land of a thousand hills has to offer. Having our CEO Kevin and Ngabo start Gihanga Coffee four years ago and they’ve been growing ever since as one of the best exporters in Rwanda. Their focus is on community-led specialty coffee production that is beneficial for both producers and the local environment, in addition to linking producer communities to the international market through high-quality and affordable coffees.

This season they’ve hooked it up with two incredible lots from the Muhari station in Rwanda’s mountainous Western Province near the shores of Lake Kivu. This region is known for specialty coffee production and the Muhari station lives up to this billing. Through support from Gihanga, the technical and environmental assistance provided to local farmers is building a sustainable foundation for coffee production in the community. Such assistance includes ag-inputs like compost and organic pesticides as well as a community-funded nursery to cultivate not just coffee trees but indigenous tree species that provide a multitude of important environmental services for both producers and the wider community.

This specific coffee is their washed processed lot. Coffee cherries are collected at the washing station from surrounding smallholder farmers. The cherries are hand-sorted and floated for grading upon collection. At the end of the day’s collection, cherries are de-pulped and fermented for 12 hours, washed, and then placed for sun-drying on raised beds till optimal moisture loss has occurred at which point the parchment is stored till dry milling in Kigali.