Gishyita 170, Rwanda | Washed
Unroasted raw green coffee beans
| Owner: | Gishyita 170 |
| Producers: | Gishyita washing station |
| Location: |
Karongi District, Western Rwanda
|
| Varietal: | Red Bourbon |
| Process: | Washed |
| Altitude: |
1735 - 1800
|
| Harvest year: | 2024 |
| Cup Score: |
86 |
| Cup profile: |
Blackberry and green apple with lemon curd and toffee |
Rwanda is blessed with ideal coffee growing conditions that include high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and an abundance of Bourbon.
The vast majority of Rwandan coffee is produced by smallholders of which there are thought to be around half a million with parcels of land often not much larger than just one hectare per family.
Coffee is grown in most parts of the country, with particularly large concentrations along Lake Kivu and in the southern province.
Rwandan smallholders organise themselves into cooperatives and share the services of centralised wet-mills or washing stations as they are known locally. Flowering takes place between September and October and the harvest runs from March to July, with shipments starting in August through December.
Gishyita washing station was built and first started processing coffee in 2010, during the first years it was owned by a small cooperative, which lacked enough resources and capacity to handle the harvest.
Recently, the cooperative decided to rent the station to a private operator who ended up with full ownership after the cooperative agreed to sell, in 2019.
Providence, the new owner, is a young man with ambitions to develop a successful agricultural business.
Just only two years since he first started operating it, the station has grown to process over 5 containers worth of coffee, offering both fully washed and natural process coffee.
The station is in Karongi district in western Rwanda at an altitude of 1750 MASL, coffee is sourced from local producers from the hills that surrounds Lake Kivu, at an altitude that goes from 1600 to 1800.
The coffee enjoys a good rainfall throughout most of the year, and the high altitude with fertile volcanic soil is the main contributor to the quality of the coffee.
Providence had been introducing a traceability system in which he records who deliver cherries to the washing station and how much cherries are delivered to be able to implement off season training in good agricultural practises for the farmers that deliver cherry regularly.
https://falconcoffees.smugmug.com/RWANDA/RWANDA-Gyshita