Rwanda - Nyarusiza Washing Station

Plum, pomegranate, black cherry, dark chocolate
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2021/22
Status Spot
Lot Number P609859-1
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About This Coffee

This coffee comes from Buf Cafe and is 100% Bourbon variety. The famed Buf Cafe washing station is in the mountains near the village of Karaba, in the Ginkongoro prefecture in south-central Rwanda. Buf Cafe started operation in 2000, after funding aid from the Rwandan Development Bank and USAID’s PEARL project. Buf Cafe is a private washing station, owned wholly by the Muhirwa family, processing coffee cherry from two distinct cooperatives in the Ginkongoro prefecture: Cobabakagi (1300 members) and Terimbere Kawa Yacu (between 400-600 members). They also collect cherry from farmers in other regions, siphoning away outside cooperative output by placing collection sites within the operating zones of other established groups. 

Country of Origin Rwanda
Region Nyamagabe District, Southern Province
Producer Type Washing Station
Farm Name Various smallholders
Processing Washed
Processing Description Dried on raised beds
Growing Altitude 1750m
Harvest Season 2021/22
Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species Arabica
Variety Red Bourbon

History of Coffee in Rwanda 

The commercialization of coffee came about gradually in Rwanda and coffee was always produced on smallholder farms. Independence brought some improvement to the coffee infrastructure as the government established more modern and centralizing processing. But this meant the government set the price they would pay for coffee and farmers had no other options. There was no focus on quality because there was no incentive whatsoever. Despite much of the coffee being Bourbon, there was no sorting or grading so all the coffee was commercial grade. Rwanda exported 642,000 bags of coffee in 1993 and 447,000 in 1994. Then, as something of a stark reminder of the genocide, Rwanda exported a mere 22,000 bags in 1995. Today, Rwanda exports only 43% of what it did in 1993, but current exports represent much greater value because for the last 20 years the focus has been on quality rather than quantity, supported by various initiatives of the Rwandan government and international NGOs. 

Growing Coffee in Rwanda

Rwanda’s ideal growing conditions are no longer wasted on poor processing. New washing stations have opened in all coffee growing regions, innovative cupping labs that arrive built into shipping containers, and cooperatives have been established. The vast majority of Rwanda's smallholder farmers grow high-quality Bourbon, well-suited to the high altitudes and volcanic soil of the region. For the last 10 years, Rwandan specialty coffees consistently rank among the finest in the world. 

  • Region Nyamagabe District, Southern Province
  • Farm Name Various smallholders
  • Producer Type Washing Station
  • Processing Washed
  • Processing Description Dried on raised beds
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Red Bourbon
  • Min Growing Altitude 1750m
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot No
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade RWA CA FW A
  • CTRM Contract Number P609859-1
  • Country of Origin Rwanda
  • Warehouse Continental NJ

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