Rwanda
Rwanda Gasharu Washed Filter
Green tea, blackcurrant, and honey - that’s an interesting cup of Rwanda.
We’ve been buying the coffee from Valentin Kimenyi’s washing station Gasharu for a couple of years now, and we’re always impressed not just by the experimental lots, but also the washed. This washed Bourbon is a testament to that; clean with a high sweetness, the education Kimenyi offers to locals farmers brings about higher graded cups and a better outcome for the farmers themselves.
Whilst the washing station sits at 1670masl, the surrounding farms that bring their coffees to Gasharu Central Washing Station sit at 1600 - 2100 masl in the Nyamasheke District. Stumping (the cutting of older tree branches to make way for healthier, new ones) helps drive the high quality of the coffees, and once the cherries reach the station they’re processed by an experienced female workforce.
Rwanda Gasharu Washed Filter
Coffee has not only the ability to wake you up and send your heartrate soaring, but more than that, coffee is viewed as an important asset that can “transform communities,” - this is how the farmers and processors who work together at the Gasharu CWS view coffee.
Valentin Kimenyi says this on their outputs, “Coffee for our community is more than just beans. For a long time, coffee has been a reason for people to spend time together, for a family to go out and meet up with others after selling their coffee because they have some money to afford a drink and food at a restaurant. Particularly the famous “Igisafuriya” or “brochettes”. These are all values that people who are not from the community would not necessarily understand or would not care about. Having grown up with many farmers in the community, my family values what coffee means to the quality of life of the community and to the social cohesion that is essential for any society.”