Rwanda | Kiyonza Hill

Region: Nyaruguru District, Rwanda
Process: Washed
Variety: Red Bourbon
Altitude: 1700-1900 masl
We Taste: Blood Orange, Cardamom, Dark Honey

This lot comes from 60 smallholder producers who live around Kiyonza Hill in the Southern Province of Rwanda, near the border of Burundi. It was processed at the Fugi washing station, owned by Emmanuel Busatira of Baho Coffee and was brought to us through Ben Bowdoin of Sundog Trading. This coffee is very complex with a deep honey-like sweetness, aromatics baking spices and rooibos tea, and a vibrant acidity that reminds us of hibiscus, red currants, and blood orange.

Coffee production in Rwanda is largely built on the model of having centralized washing stations where smallholders deliver their cherries for processing. These stations can receive cherries from hundreds or thousands of farmers, however, Baho is building small lots with several neighboring producers' cherries grouped together. Though building smaller lots like this is more rigorous than creating larger regional lots, it allows us the privilege to taste the profiles of more micro-scale regions within Rwanda with a greater degree of transparency into who is growing the coffee we get to taste. Emmanuel's attention to lot separation is a major commitment towards quality and is cutting edge for coffee in Rwanda. Baho is not only committed to the coffee quality, but is committed to supporting the producers who deliver to their stations through the distribution of seedlings, education on best agricultural practices, giving loans for infrastructure and quality of live investments, and general community building. 

This is the first of two lots we forward-contracted and purchased, and we're very humbled to be able to share their coffees with you.

Price Breakdown:

Our Total Cost: $8.89/lb
Packaging, labor, and weight loss: $3.98/lb
Green Price: $4.91/lb
FOB Price: $3.55/lb 
Farm Gate Price:  570 rwf/kg cherry + 30 rwf/kg cherry second payment 

Importer: Sundog Trading

*We roast on Tuesdays and ship the following day; order deadline is 7:00 am Tuesday morning; local pick-up orders will be ready on Fridays