Introducing Rwanda Rinyoni

We recently travelled to beautiful Rwanda, a tiny landlocked country in the middle of Africa. Despite its turbulent history, today Rwanda is one of the specialty coffee world’s darlings. During our adventure we visited many washing stations. However, when we arrived at Rinyoni, situated high above the shores of Lake Kivu, we knew straightaway this was the one we would source coffee from. What a special place.

Smallholders propel the industry in Rwanda forward. The country doesn’t have any large estates. Most of the coffee is grown by over 400,000 smallholders, who own less than a quarter of a hectare. The majority of Rwanda’s coffee production is Arabica. Bourbon variety plants comprise 95% of all coffee trees cultivated in Rwanda.

After purchasing cherry from producers, Rinyoni sends the cherry through a strict sorting process. First, washing station staff remove any lower-quality coffee. The cherries are then pulped before making their way into the fermentation tanks to dry ferment for 12-18 hours.

Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and placed in thin layers on tables to sundry. Here, it is sifted regularly to ensure even drying. The parchment is then covered during the hottest times of the day and at night to prevent condensation.

Station manager Didier welcomed us and made us feel right at home. After a tour of the property, 1,500m above sea level, he invited us to help with sorting coffee in the water channels after they had been pulped.

The station, built in 2012, won Cup of Excellence during its first year of operation.

After the tour, and helping out with sort the coffee in the water channels, we roasted the green beans traditionally in a pan over an open fire. The coffee was then ground in a big mortar and pestle. After this, we drank and savoured it in his “tasting tent”. Talk about from farm to cup.

We managed to secure a few bags from the latest harvest that we were so fortunate to be a part of. We hope you enjoy! Shop here.