Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills

Visit to our coffee producers in May 2024

Ruanda, das Land der tausend Hügel

Rwanda has a population of approximately 13 million, spread across 27,000 square kilometers. In terms of area, this is one-third the size of Austria, with a third more people. The average age is 19.2 years, compared to 43.2 years in Austria (2022).

It's one of the most beautiful coffee-growing regions in Africa we've visited so far. The coffee isn't grown as a monoculture, it's not plantation coffee, but rather grows among many local crops, such as bananas, avocados, millet, and much more—just as originally planned. We received a very warm welcome.

Our first stop: Kigali, the capital, at 1,500 meters above sea level. Vibrant, young, traffic-clogged, clean.

What did we perceive? Beautiful, warm, graceful people. Many shades of color: businesspeople through and through, alongside young unemployed people with and without jobs. Poverty and material simplicity alongside ostentatious possessions. Emotional wealth with plenty of freedom, laughter, and lightheartedness, alongside perceived limitations regarding education, comfort, and medical care.

Shocking story: Genocide 1994. According to various sources, between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people were murdered by mid-July 1994. Approximately 75 percent of the Tutsi living in Rwanda fell victim to the genocide, as did about a third of the Twa. Moderate Hutu who refused to participate or actively opposed the violence were also killed.

Our connection to Rwanda developed through Immaculae Steinlechner. She is a Rwandan/Tutsi who was adopted as a child after the genocide in Tyrol. Her entire family fell victim to the genocide. For several years now, Imma has devoted herself entirely to coffee from her homeland, thus building an important bridge between Austria/Europe and Rwanda.

Our second stop: Lake Kivu is the center of our journey and the origin of our coffee.

Lake Kivu forms the border with Congo, a country in constant tension with Rwanda. The lake is 2,400 km² in size and 480 m deep. 58% of the lake belongs to the Democratic Republic of Congo, 42% is on the Rwandan side. Lake Kivu is a crater lake and one of the largest lakes in Africa with 250 islands, 56 of which are on the Rwandan side. On one of these islands is "our" coffee region. We can only reach the cooperatives/washing stations by boat. For us, this is very idyllic, but a challenge for the delivery and transport of the coffee. There is access by land, but it is very complicated. Our current coffee from Rwanda comes from the washing station/cooperative COOCAMU. Josias Harerimana He manages this, along with two others, on Lake Kivu. He is a local resident and enjoys the trust of many coffee farmers in the area. During our visit, we were able to engage in lively discussions with him and his team and learn about the region's special features.

Our current Rwanda is a FULLY WASHED Arabica of the Bourbon variety. This variety is the predominant in Rwanda – comparable to the GRÜNER VELTLINER in Austria. We are using this trip, among other things, to find an appealing Arabica made using the NATURAL processing method. The special processing steps are carried out at Josias' second washing station, called BWIZHASA. This includes processing the NATURALS – in simple terms, drying the entire coffee cherry. Behind this process, however, lies a great deal of know-how about the right harvest time, selection and hygiene, proper drying, storage, hulling, and much more. The activity at the washing station is very colorful and lively. BWIZHASA was only recently built. The new equipment, cleanliness, and good organization are striking. The young agricultural engineer Samuel manages the entire coffee processing on site. Many young people do good work. The result is fine quality coffee in the cup.

The discussions with Josias and his team have provided us with many useful insights. Certain conditions are crucial for achieving high quality: direct delivery immediately after picking, ideally ripe cherries, and immediate processing. Farmers who cultivate their coffee trees in the immediate vicinity of the washing station can meet these criteria. Furthermore, knowing the farmer from whom the cherries come makes them traceable. However, if a longer period elapses between harvest and delivery or processing (half a day or more), off-flavors develop due to the cherries being left in the heat for longer (comparable to overripe fruit that begins to ferment). This happens when farmers from more distant areas bring their cherries by boat as a collective delivery to the washing station. At the cooperative, we conduct a blind tasting of coffees made from immediately processed coffee cherries and those that were not. The results show a clear difference in favor of the freshly processed and traceable coffee. This one is very clean, much sweeter and shows noticeably finer aromas overall.

For next year, we've been offered the opportunity to be on-site during the coffee harvest. We will pre-finance the amount of coffee we need. This gives the cooperative planning security and gives us the opportunity to influence the quality. Further projects for a positive collaboration are planned. This should lead to a win-win situation.

Original article

"Rwanda: The Land of 1000 Hills"

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Freshly roasted... and the clock is already ticking! Coffee is a perishable product. From the moment roasting is complete, the aging process of the coffee beans begins. Then the clock starts ticking. The beloved aromas in coffee largely develop during roasting from the building blocks of the green bean. The fact that we smell aromas from coffee means that these are volatile: they travel to our noses in gaseous form. Most of what we think we taste, we actually smell. These volatile aromas are therefore (unfortunately) only a temporary delight within the coffee beans. In addition to the aromas, carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced during the roasting process. This originates from reactions between carbohydrates and amino acids. Carbon dioxide is particularly valued for its foaming effect – in the crema formation of espresso. Carbon dioxide plays an equally important role in the storage of coffee beans. It acts as a protective gas within the coffee packaging, displacing atmospheric oxygen. 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Read more