The geographical constitution of Rwanda is prime for the production of Rwanda specialty coffee. This relatively small East African country is known as The Land of a Thousand Hills. Why? Because the whole country is covered with mountainous terrain; even its lowest point is 950 metres above sea level.
A tropical climate, with temperatures up to 28C and getting no lower than 15C, and the country’s altitudinous traits are the two key ingredients in the Rwanda specialty coffee recipe.
Economic Importance
The vast majority of the 13.2 million inhabitants of Rwanda rely on agriculture for their income. Alongside tea, coffee is the country’s primary export. In fact, Rwanda is the 30th top producer of coffee in the world. It goes without saying, therefore, that coffee is of great importance to the financial wellbeing of Rwanda’s citizens. By purchasing Rwanda specialty coffee, we are contributing to the livelihoods of more than 400,000 Rwandan coffee growers.
Rwanda Specialty Coffee – Nyakabingo
The John Watt & Son Coffee of the Month this May is the Rwanda Nyakabingo.
The Rwanda Nyakabingo coffee cherries are hand-picked and then transported to a nearby cooperative-based washing station. 330 small farms, averaging 1 hectare in size, deliver their harvest to the Nyakabingo washing station where the coffee cherries are washed and sorted. After grading, the cherries are naturally dried under the sun. Each farm’s crop is kept separate to allow for traceability and quality control.
Once sun-dried, the cherries are milled prior to transportation through neighbouring Tanzania and sometimes Kenya.
Rwanda Nyakabingo Coffee – Details
Region: Nyakbingo, Western Province
Altitude: grown at 1720 to 1950 metres above sea level
Processing: natural
Variety: bourbon
Aroma: grapefruit
Flavour: cranberry with dark chocolate and hints of brown sugar
John Watt Coffee Club
Every month we award a single-origin coffee with the title of Coffee of the Month. We roast the coffee ourselves and dispatch a 250g bag to each of our coffee club members on the very same day. You can’t get fresher than that! Join the John Watt coffee club today!
References
Harley, L. (2020, April 16). Specialty Coffee Origin In Focus: Rwanda. Modern Standard Coffee. https://modernstandardcoffee.co.uk/2020/04/16/specialty-coffee-origin-in-focus-rwanda/
Szenthe, A. (2020, September 14). Top Coffee Producing Countries. WorldAtlas. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-coffee-producing-countries.html
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