Rwanda Natural - Huye Mountain

Sweet, black grape, blueberry, boysenberry, chocolate
TOP LOT
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2021/22
Status Spot
Lot Number P608937-1
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About This Coffee

Huye Mountain Coffee is a private washing station established in 2011 to provide farmers in the region with access to international markets and buyers of specialty coffees. Around 1,330 producers deliver their freshly picked coffee cherries to 26 collecting stations around the Huye community, where a truck visits daily to collect the farmers' coffee during harvest season. This unique coffee comes from the Huye Mountain in the Huye District, in Southern Rwanda and grown above 1,900 meters. The natural process employed at Huye Mountain involves meticulous cherry selection and hand sorting prior to drying. Drying is done on raised African beds for between 14 and 28 days, depending on the weather, and the coffee is turned regularly 

Country of Origin Rwanda
Harvest Season 2021/22
Coffee Grade RWA CA NAT SPL SD
Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species Arabica
Processing Natural/Dry Processed
Variety Red Bourbon
Region Huye District
Farm Name Various smallholders
Climate Tropical savannah
Soil Loam

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. 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. For the last 10 years, Rwandan specialty coffees consistently rank among the finest in the world.

Growing Coffee in Rwanda 

Cherries are hand-picked when fully ripe and then pulped that same evening using a mechanical pulper that divides the beans into three grades by weight. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight (for around 12-18 hours) and then graded again using flotation channels that sort the coffee by weight (the heaviest – or A1 – usually being the best). The wet parchment is then soaked in water for around 24 hours to stabilize moisture content.

  • Region Huye District
  • Farm Name Various smallholders
  • Producer Type Washing Station
  • Wet Mill Rupango Washing Station
  • Processing Natural/Dry Processed
  • Processing Description Dried on raised beds
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Red Bourbon
  • Screen Size 15 Up
  • Climate Tropical savannah
  • Soil Loam
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot Yes
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade RWA CA NAT SPL SD
  • CTRM Contract Number P608937-1
  • Country of Origin Rwanda
  • Warehouse Continental NJ