Growing in the Lutesilo region of the western province of Malaba in southern Rwanda

Malaba Coffee grows in southern Rwanda, about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the city of Butare and 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the capital, Gejali. The plan began in the Malaba area of Butare province, but was taken over by a local government organization in 2006, which is now part of the Huye district of the southern province. Due to its proximity to the East African Rift Valley and the Neuenway Forest Mountains, this zone is sloping, steep and has fertile volcanic soil. Coffee is grown at 1700 to 2100 m (5577-6889 ft) above sea level, usually with terraces on steep hillsides. The zone also has an average annual rainfall of 115 centimeters (45 inches). Most of them come from the rainy season from March to May, which is also the main coffee harvest season. The temperature at high altitude is slightly lower, with an average of about 20 °C (68 °F), which varies slightly due to seasons.

Production process

Coffee fruit

Coffee fruit

The biggest harvest season for Rwandan coffee is during the main rainy season, from March to the end of May. During the harvest season, farmers spend most of their day picking coffee fruits by hand. In the afternoon, farmers carry coffee fruits in traditional baskets made of banana leaves to a cleaning station a few hours away. The mechanic picks out the best quality crimson coffee fruit by hand and returns the remaining coffee fruit to the farmers and sells it at a low price in the market outside the Malabaga work area. The mechanic pays the farmer $0.10 per kilogram. The guild deposits the remuneration into the farmer's bank account every two weeks.

The sink technician in the process will clean the coffee immediately because the delay will ferment the sugary outer layer of the coffee beans, ruining the taste of the coffee. The coffee beans are first thrown into a deep trough, and the best quality coffee fruit goes into the bottom and passes through a machine that peels off its skin. The mechanic takes out the floating coffee fruit, processes it in the same way and allows the cooperative to sell it at a lower price in the domestic market. Coffee beans through three cooperative peeling and selection machines, remove the skin and sugary outer layer, and then let the coffee beans individually through the vibrating filter. The filter separates the highest quality A beans from those classified as Class B; the two grades are transported to the hills with a 1% slope of the waterway. In the process of transportation, coffee beans of all qualities are further classified, and there are about 15 sinks at the bottom of the channel that can capture different kinds of coffee beans. Coffee beans are preserved continuously in water. Grade A beans and grade B beans stay for two days and 15-20 hours respectively to slightly ferment and convert the remaining sugar without serious damage to the taste.

After the washed coffee beans are air-dried on the net rack, after washing the coffee beans many times to completely remove the remaining skin and sugary outer layer, the coffee beans are put into the sheltered rack to air-dry. Cooperative staff regularly flip coffee beans, while technicians continue to look for and pick out poor quality coffee beans. The two-week drying process takes place in the sun (prepare the mulch in case of rain) and keep turning the coffee beans. This step reduces the water content of coffee beans from 40% to 12%.

Then the mechanic transported the coffee beans to the technology center near Chez. Some machines installed in warehouses on the hills remove the cutin from coffee beans. The staff sent the coffee beans to nearby research institutes for final quality control-manual sorting, which was carried out by several experienced women. After bagging and labeling according to its quality, the coffee beans can be stored in the warehouse waiting for the market.