What are the peculiar varieties of Rwandan coffee

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German missionaries first brought coffee to Rwanda in 1904, but it was not until 1917 that Rwanda had enough to export. After World War I, the League of Nations forcibly removed German colonial rule and handed it over to Belgium. This explains why most Rwandan coffee in history has been exported to Belgium.

Coffee was first grown in the MIBIRIZI monastery in Sangu province, Rwanda, and the first coffee bean variety (natural bourbon variety) in Rwanda was named after the monastery. Then, gradually spread to the Kivu (KIVU) region, and finally spread throughout Rwanda. In 1930, following the colonial rule of neighboring Burundi, Belgium made coffee a compulsory crop in Rwanda.

Belgium strictly controls coffee exports and levies high taxes on coffee farmers. This policy has skewed Rwanda towards producing low-cost coffee with high yield and low quality. At the same time, the lack of infrastructure and even a single washing plant do not have the conditions to produce high-quality coffee products.

Coffee became Rwanda's most important export in the 1990s, but the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the worldwide downturn in coffee prices dealt a heavy blow to Rwandan coffee factories.

The role of coffee in the recovery of Rwanda

Coffee is a positive sign of Rwanda's recovery from the Holocaust. Foreign aid has paid close attention to the coffee industry in Rwanda, with the construction of washing and treatment plants, which have enabled Rwanda to produce high-quality coffee, and the government has also made the trade of coffee public, so that buyers of fine coffee have a strong interest in fine coffee from Rwanda. Rwanda is the only African country to host the COE, which aims to find the best coffee batches and enter the boutique market through an online trading platform system.

The United States International Development Organization (USAID) built its first washing plant in 2004. Until the dramatic growth of washing plants in recent years, more than 300 treatment plants have been put into use. The Agricultural Cooperation Promotion Project (PEARL) in Rwanda has helped to spread coffee knowledge and has trained many agricultural experts. At the same time, cooperation has been carried out to support and promote the Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Business Development Project (SPREAD), which focuses on the development of Butare BUTARE production areas at the same time.

Rwanda is widely regarded as a country with thousands of mountains, so the latitude and climate are very suitable for growing high-quality coffee. Nevertheless, large areas of poor soil and transport problems add to the cost of coffee production in Rwanda and pose serious challenges to the country.

Since 2010, world coffee prices have generally risen, and Rwanda is faced with how to find a way to continue to maintain the high quality of coffee grown. When the market is bought at a high price, there are sufficient conditions to improve the quality of coffee. At the same time, low-quality coffee also makes a higher profit from it, but Rwandan coffee has been of excellent quality in recent years. Rwanda produces and exports only a small amount of robusta, mostly washed Arabica.

Potato effect

This effect occurs only in coffee from Rwanda and Burundi. When the coffee fruit is infected by an unknown bacteria, and the bacteria enter the coffee peel, it will have a bad effect, which is harmless to people's health, but when the infected coffee beans are roasted and ground, they will release some undue pungent odors. It smells like a peeled potato. The bacteria only affect certain coffee beans, so as long as they are picked out from a whole bag of coffee beans before grinding, they will not affect other coffee beans.

It is very tricky to eradicate this germ. after the raw beans are processed, it is impossible to identify the infected coffee beans, and it is difficult for coffee roasters to pick them out before roasting, and even after the roasting is finished, the beans are difficult to be found. the defective smell was not detected until it was ground into powder. The only possibility is to pick the coffee fruit with bacteria before treatment, and the skin of the coffee fruit with bacteria is obviously damaged.

Traceability of origin

Coffee in Rwanda can be traced back to water washing plants, which are supplied by cooperatives or small farmers, with an average of 183 coffee trees per small farmer, making it difficult to trace coffee back to individual producers.

A species endemic to Rwanda

A bourbon tree introduced by MIBIRIZI Mabirez from Rwanda from Guatemala, a natural variety of bourbon that was first planted in Rwanda and then spread to Burundi.

Another variant of JACKSON Jackson, which was first planted in Rwanda and spread to Burundi.

Taste orientation

Amazing Rwandan coffee often has fruity flavors similar to fresh red apples and red grapes, and berries and flowers may also be common.

Producing area

Population: 10537000

Output: 10 8000 tonnes (2013)

Coffee is widely grown in almost all areas except a few restricted areas in Rwanda, so roasters can find the coffee they want in the form of processing plants or cooperatives.

West and South

Most of the excellent coffee comes from the south and west, and the production mainly revolves around the Hushan Mountains, in addition to the NYAMAGABE and NYAMASHEKE areas, as well as the shores of Lake KYVU.

Altitude: 1700-2200 m

Harvest time: March-June

Variety: bourbon, MIBIRIZI

Eastern region: eastern Rwanda is not as high above sea level as other areas, but there is also good coffee grown in the eastern NGOMA and NYAGATARE regions (in the northeastern part).