About this Coffee
RWANDA NYARUSIZA WASHED
ROAST: Filter Roast
PROCESS: Washed
REGION: Nyamagabe
ELEVATION: 1800-2000
VARIETAL: Red bourbon
CUP: Cranberries, Maple syrup, Chinese dried dated/jujubes
This special micro-lot was produced by smallholder producers who farm coffee in the high hills surrounding Nyarusiza washing station, located in the Kamageri Sector of Nyamagabe District, in Rwanda’s Southern Province. The farmers are members of the Kawanziza Farmer’s Group, a small association of producers who deliver coffee to Buf Coffee company, who own and manage Nyarusiza along with three other washing stations. Most washing stations in Rwanda receive cherry from hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of farmers who own very small plots of land.
Separation of such tiny lots is expensive and impractical, so the large majority of coffees are processed as a mixed lot from multiple producers. Typically, lots are separated as day lots (ie. cherries that were all picked on the same day) rather than by a single farm or producer group. Quality control and day-to-day operations at Nvarusiza are overseen by the station manager, Celestine Uwizeyimana, who is assisted by Head of Quality Control, Eugenie Kanakuze. Together, they ensure that the coffee is harvested and processed with care and that production standards are kept at the highest possible level.
Nyarusiza typically provides jobs for 60 seasonal workers during the peak harvest and staffs five permanent positions. At the end of each season. any surplus profits are shared with the producers and washing station managers.