Kilimbi - Natural, Rwanda

Produced by:

This coffee is sourced by our friends at Raw Material, a social enterprise that partners with specific communities that will benefit the most from their partnership. RM works closely with Muraho Trading Company in Rwanda. This partnership helps affiliate co-operatives increase their quality of production, fetch a higher price for their coffee, and introduce them to new markets. This will be a continuous work in progress in the coming years, as we gain a greater understanding of the particular challenges Rwandan coffee producers face.

Through this process RM can develop a model that creates incentives that generate producer buy-in, all the while maximising impact. They supply coffee from across Muraho’s washing stations, which are located in the Nyamasheke, Gakenke, and Nyabihu regions of Rwanda.

Nyamasheke District, Rwanda

Kilimbi (pronounced Chih-limbi) is of the two first washing stations to be granted approval to produce natural and honey processed coffee in Rwanda by NAEB. The elevation of Kilimbi lends itself incredibly well to the production of exceptional washed, honeys and naturals. Drying beds stretch across a large open plain, where airflow and sunlight have maximum exposure to the coffee as it dries. Built in 2016, it is the birthplace of Muraho Trading Company, as their first washing station.

Like Gisheke, Kilimbi is only accessible by boat, with farmers travelling across Lake Kivu to deliver their farm’s harvests. Its estimated annual production is approximately 33,300kg of milled green coffee, which is produced each harvest into volumes of honey, washed, and naturally processed coffees.

Natural

All cherries are hand-sorted before a pre-pulp float, underripe or damaged cherry is removed, along with any foreign objects. Cherry is then floated in pre-pulping tanks removing any floaters and later pulped.

Once the cherries are sorted and cleaned, they are ready to be dried. The cherries are laid out evenly across raised beds, providing consistent airflow, and height away to prevent moisture and animals from coming into contact with the cherry. The cherry is dried for 30 days, turned constantly when the sun is high and covered during the night. Once the cherry has dried, the now dried outer fruit is removed, and the coffee beans are ready to be organised for packing.