Rwanda Nyungwe Site

Producer RTC Members (Rwanda Trading Co.)
Washing Station Nyungwe Washing Station
Sector Kagano Sector
Province Western Province
District Nyamasheke

Sun Exposure Mixed forest shade and sun
Farm Size Small subsistence farms
Altitude 1800 meters
Latitude -2.36096
Longitude 29.13593

Variety Red Bourbon
Process Honey
Fermentation Dry; 8-12hrs
Drying Sun dried on raised beds; 16-21 days

Harvest Year 2024

Flavor Honey, Brown Spices, Dried Fruit, Strawberry, Lime Zest
Descriptors Sticky Sweetness, Layered, Pleasant Complexity

About this coffee The Nyungwe Site is a small washing station compared to most in Rwanda, sitting at 1776m and covering a tiny 1.1ha as it backs right up to the Nyungwe Forest National Park, the farthest source of the River Nile. The washing station was constructed in 2006 and purchased by Rwanda Trading Company (RTC) in 2013 which breathed life back into the area.

Coffee is grown by around 1,000 small subsistence farmers who cultivate between 150 to 3,000 trees. Farmers who deliver cherry here are enrolled into the RTC agronomy training program and participate in training modules of both best agricultural practices and financial literacy. Over the past two years, RTC has focused on plant rejuvenation with participating growers and has distributed over 200,000 seedlings to assist farmers in replacing older coffee plants and expanding their farms around the Nyungwe washing station; across all RTC washing stations over 3.5 million seedlings have been distributed in the last 3 years alone.

Coffee delivered to the station is cleaned and sorted before pulping where, as a honey processed coffee, they aim to remove only 50% of the mucilage when pulping before sending it to the drying beds. Due to the increased moisture left behind on the parchment from the sticky outer layers, coffee is tended to regularly for rotating, avoiding hot spots and unevenness over the next 16-21 days. The coffee is then stored in bags, still in parchment, up until the time of export, where it’s sorted one final time, milled and shipped.