Description of the distribution of producing areas with the characteristics of coffee bean planting history in Rwanda

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Rwanda, known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, is located on the equator and surrounded by Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi. Geographically, it has suitable conditions for growing coffee, but since its introduction by German missionaries in 1904, Rwandan coffee has been of poorly treated commercial grade, most of which is exported to Belgium. The push for specialty coffee production began only after the war ravaged and the economy returned to normal.

The Genocide of 1994 killed more than a million people, most of them Tutsi. To this day, there are orphans who survived in Rwanda, memorials everywhere, and war criminals who account for 90% of the total number of prisoners! Since 2001, the Rwandan government has established the National Agriculture Export Development Board (NAEB) to focus on increasing coffee exports and earning foreign exchange.

With government support, farmers switched from crude in-house processing to transporting freshly harvested fruit to a nearby Coffee Washing Station for full washing. In just 12 years, the number of washing stations nationwide has increased from two to 220. It is now wholly privately owned, i.e. by exporters or farmers 'cooperatives. Due to the small average size of farmland (less than 200 coffee trees per farm), each station serves approximately 50 to 100 farms. NAEB employs 200 botanists and surveyors who regularly visit the washing stations to inspect quality and educate farmers on soil management, organic farming, pruning, pest control and picking.

Rwanda was the first African country to host a COE event. This year is the fifth. On the palate, Rwandan coffee has floral, fruity notes and a soft, tea-like texture. The balance is the highest in Africa. I will talk about this year's competitions and my thoughts in another article.

Rwandan coffee is the most popular African coffee after Kenya and Ethiopia. However, unlike the two famous producing countries, it does not have a long history of cultivation, let alone wild native varieties; this small African country is a fire phoenix reborn from disaster.

Bourbon accounts for more than 90% of Rwanda's production. A small number of farmers planted Bourbon varieties BM-139 and Jackson. There are more mountains in the south and west, and washing stations are more famous. Examples include Gitesi, Huye Mountain and Mibirizi. In contrast to Central America, where drying is common on concrete floors, Rwanda covers parchment coffee on African beds with tarpaulins, controls the drying rate, and reduces the moisture content of the beans slowly to the target 11% over 10 to 15 days. This method helps retain organic matter rather than sun exposure.