A brief introduction to the cultivation of boutique coffee beans in Chimeier Manor with a long aftertaste, geographical location, climate and altitude

Rwanda's economy is primarily agricultural. 92 per cent of the population is engaged in farming. Cash crops mainly coffee, tea, cotton. Rwanda is still a backward country because it is an agricultural country and the genocide in 1994 caused the loss of many young workers. It was a huge blow to this already poor country. After the civil war, Rwanda has stepped up its development in coffee cultivation and trade. In recent years, the Rwandan government has also taken active measures to establish coffee production cooperatives in various places, giving technical guidance and financial support to farmers, hoping to drive domestic economic development to a certain extent through coffee industry. Because of the excellent performance of Rwandan coffee in recent years, it has become more and more famous in the international market.

Rwanda has been growing coffee since colonial times. Although coffee is the main crop, the quality of coffee produced in Rwanda is not outstanding. The status of coffee in the world is low and few people pay attention to it. Rwanda grows mostly bourbon coffee varieties. Rwanda, known as the "country of thousands of hills", has a high altitude mountain environment, fertile volcanic soil and abundant rainfall, which is conducive to the growth of coffee trees. The advantages of varieties combined with excellent natural conditions should have produced high-quality coffee, but why is the coffee quality not satisfactory? The reason lies in the later processing links. Improper processing will reduce the quality of coffee and sacrifice many good flavors in vain. Harvesting, planting, processing, grading, transportation and other links will directly affect the quality of coffee beans, in which the lack of control in a certain link will become a stumbling block to make good coffee.

Coffee fruits need to be transported to the processing plant as soon as possible after picking, but due to lack of facilities in the country, it is impossible to process the fruits in the first time. The fruits accumulate together after being picked, and lack of ventilation will continue to accelerate mold and rot. The rotten fruits will affect the quality of coffee and appear defective flavor.

Rwanda has made great progress in coffee production and processing in recent years. First, coffee fruit is picked manually; coffee production cooperatives are set up all over the country to provide technical guidance to coffee farmers; coffee farmers send coffee processing stations for cleaning and screening as soon as possible after picking, and select mature and high-quality coffee fruits for processing.

Rwandan coffee is attracting attention for its high-quality washed Arabica beans and is gaining increasing popularity in international markets. Rwanda plans to export 3000 tonnes of coffee this year, further boosting production to meet increasing demand, according to marketing and promotion officer of the Rwanda Coffee Association, Karuretwa. Starbucks, the world's largest coffee retailer, has partnered with the Rwandan government to import Rwandan coffee, just as a coffee-colored dove flies from a coffee cup against the words "Cup of Hope" on the Rwandan coffee label. Indeed, coffee holds the hopes of the Rwandan people. They hope to increase coffee exports to drive the country's economic development, but also hope that Hutu and Tutsi, the two major tribes that once hated each other, will work together to grow coffee and eliminate hatred and build a better tomorrow.

The first problem that Malaba coffee farmers solved was to set up a washing station. Coffee cherries must be transported to a washing station within twelve hours of picking to remove the sugar coating under the outer skin of the coffee beans, otherwise the flavor of the coffee will be greatly damaged. In July 2001, with funding from UNR, the Office des Cultures Industrielles du Rwanda (OCIR-Café), ACDI/VOCA and ISAR, they built the first cleaning station near the main road in Cyarumbo district. However, the washing station was not activated until late in the harvest season, so only 200 kg (441 lb) of the harvest was washed that year. However, the result was unexpectedly good. In 2002, the washing station was upgraded to provide more coffee processing. ACDI/VOCA was responsible for funding the construction of pipelines to bring in Mount Huye mineral water and help improve the efficiency of the cleaning station. The pipeline was commissioned in March 2002.

During the 2002 harvest season, Rwanda introduced a new certification system to ensure that coffee beans delivered to washing stations maintained proper quality. About half of Abba Uzamgambi's members are certified, allowing the cooperative to find buyers in specialized markets in Europe and North America.

Recognized by the world

PEARL brought coffee specialists to Rwanda, where it was responsible for maintaining contact with the seller, Community Coffee of Louisiana, USA, and sending samples to Louisiana. In June 2002, representatives of Public Coffee visited Malabar. At that time, the current President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, stated on behalf of the Government the importance of this programme. Public Coffee bought 18000 kilograms (40000 pounds) of maraba beans for $3 a kilogram, above the market average. Coffee beans are shipped to Louisiana, where they are roasted and used in the company's fine coffee. It is also the first direct contract between an American roasting company and an African coffee cooperative. Rwanda has about 33,000 hectares of coffee plantations and 500,000 people engaged in coffee farming. With its high altitude and fertile volcanic soil, the country's fertile soil and climate are conducive to plant growth, and coffee trees seem to be driven or forced to grow upwards, or to grow too fast to produce the best coffee beans. Rwanda, the beautiful country of a thousand hills, has a long and rich culture of growing highland coffee, mainly high-quality Arabica coffee. Rwanda is the only country in the world that can fully enjoy the harmony between soil, elevation and climate. In this unique growing environment, Rwanda's high-quality coffee has a distinctive taste and aroma. Bourbon coffee grown in Rwanda is one of the original varieties of Arabica coffee

Clans began to coalesce into kingdoms in the 15th century, and by 1700 there were eight kingdoms in Rwanda. The Kingdom of Rwanda, ruled by the Tutsi "Nyiginya" clan, grew from the mid-18th century until it reached its peak in the 19th century under King Kigali IV.

Between 700 BC and 1500 AD, groups of Bantu migrated to Rwanda, clearing forests for crops.

In the 16th century, Tutsis established a feudal kingdom.

In 1884, the West African Conference in Berlin transferred the territory to the German Empire as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era in Rwanda.

In 1890, it became a German East Africa protectorate. After World War I, it was ruled by a Belgian mandate. After the Second World War it was transferred to Belgium as a "trusteeship."

In 1935, Belgium introduced a new identity card system, which would indicate whether the holder was Tutsi, Hutu, Twa or naturalized.

On July 1, 1962, independence was declared and the Republic was established.

On July 5, 1973, the Second Republic was established.

In October 1990, a civil war broke out between the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi refugee organization living in Uganda, and Hutu government forces.

In June 1991, a multiparty system was introduced.

On 4 August 1993, the Rwandan government and RPF signed a peace agreement in Arusha, Tanzania, which decided to end the civil war.

After Hutu President Habyarimana was killed in a plane crash on April 6, 1994, civil war broke out again, resulting in a massacre that killed nearly a million people.

On 19 July 1994, RPF achieved a military victory and seized power.

At the end of 2009, Rwanda officially became a new member of the Commonwealth, the second non-British colony to join the Commonwealth after Mozambique and the 54th member of the Commonwealth.

Rwanda is a landlocked country located in the southern equatorial part of central Africa, bordering Tanzania in the east, Burundi in the south, Congo (DRC) in the west and Uganda in the north. There are many mountains in the territory, and it is known as the "Country of Thousand Hills". The Congo and Nile divide runs through western Rwanda from north to south.