This lot processed by the Black Honey method, produced by small growers delivering to the Gitoki station, offers a sweet cup with a rich and heavy body. The processing method highlights the natural sweetness of the coffee and the characteristic features of the region. Honey processing is not very common in Africa because it is more complicated in terms of technology. That is why we are happy to have been able to find this rarity.
The farm / washing station:
Located in Gatsibo, Rwanda’s Eastern Province, Gitoki washing station is the newest addition to Baho Coffee’s operations. Historically known for banana cultivation (ibitoki in the local language), the area has undergone a significant agricultural transformation with the introduction of coffee farming. The station was established to be closer to farmers and has successfully converted banana groves into thriving coffee plantations, with banana plants now serving as shade trees for coffee crops. This innovative approach provides dual benefits to local farmers, allowing them to cultivate both food and cash crops.
Since its inception, Baho Coffee has been committed to supporting local farmers by distributing 2,500,000 free coffee seedlings and offering continuous agronomic support and monitoring. The young coffee trees in this region show great promise, producing high-quality cherry that contributes to the station’s impressive output. “Farmers are motivated [to produce quality coffee] but their efforts are not well remunerated. Coffee prices are not meeting farmers’ expectations,” says Rusatira Emmanuel, Managing Director of Baho Coffee. This is why washing stations countrywide, including those owned by Baho Coffee, are striving to incentivize high quality coffee production with better prices and support for farmers seeking to improve the quality of their harvest.In the early 2000s the Rwandan government, with the input of international partners, identified coffee as a potentially key generator of much needed export revenue. To improve the quality of coffee, the government has incentivized the creation of new washing stations in coffee producing areas and has partnered with local stakeholders to make sure that farmers are the main beneficiaries. As one measure to this end, the government supports washing stations by providing inputs. The stations, in turn, transport the inputs from government warehouses to the area so farmers can access them more easily. The station is also involved in training farmers how to use inputs properly.
Production of coffee in the area is done by smallholders, with an average of 275 trees per farmer. Most labor is done by the family. Soils are clay and sandy soil and annual rainfall is about 1,290 millimeters. The region’s fertile soil and favorable climate conditions have made it a promising area for coffee cultivation, contributing to Rwanda’s growing reputation for high-quality coffee.
Rusatira Emmanuel is the founder and owner of Baho Coffee. Rusatira established Baho Coffee in 2013 after a long career in coffee that began as a washing station manager and culminated in a position as head of a department, managing a number of stations. Today, Baho Coffee oversees four washing stations across Rwanda. With one station in each of the coffee producing provinces, Baho Coffee has access to a wide range of profiles and processing methods. In addition to providing a number of educational, financial and agricultural services to farmers, Baho Coffee also has several social programs that are geared towards helping farmers, especially marginalized groups like women, older farmers and youth.
Variety:
Bourbon is the most famous of the varieties from the Bourbon family. It is a tall variety characterised by its relatively low production, susceptibility to the most common diseases and excellent cup quality. French missionaries brought this variety from Yemen to the island of Bourbon (now Réunion) in the early 17th century, giving it its present name. Bourbon did not leave the island until the mid-19th century. From the mid-19th century, however, the variety spread to new parts of the world as missionaries sought to establish themselves in Africa and America. Around 1860, Bourbon was imported to Brazil, from where it quickly spread north to other parts of South and Central America, where it is still grown today. Here it has mixed with other related varieties imported from India and with Ethiopian native varieties. Today, there are many Bourbon-like varieties in East Africa, but none of them exactly resembles the Bourbon variety found in Latin America. In Latin America, it has now largely been replaced by varieties derived from it (notably Caturra, Catuai and Mundo Novo).
Red Bourbon is then the most widely produced Bourbon variant. In Rwanda and Burundi it is even legislated that Red Bourbon is the only imported variety that can be grown. This is mainly due to the fear of importing coffee diseases, as the Bourbon variety is quite sensitive.
Processing:
During the harvest season, cherry is selectively handpicked by farmers and their families. At intake, staff sort cherry by hand and then float the cherry to check for density. The station accepts only cherry that passes both visual hand sorting and floating. Sorting work consumes over 70% of seasonal labor, but Rusatira knows it is worth it. After sorting and intake, cherry is placed in pulping machines to separate the outer husk. Then, coffee with almost all its mucilage intact is taken to drying beds where it’s dried for 30-35 days. During this process, workers remove damaged parchment and foreign matter and rake frequently to ensure even drying and a high-quality final product.
Our baristas notes:
Beautiful, full-bodied dense coffee on the filter. We are a big fans of Rwanda coffees at our roastery and the black honey processing is not very common there. The filter has medium body, higher sweetness and medium citric acidity. On the body there is a sweet touch of elderflower complemented by a very nice fruity pomelo flavour which is interspersed with black tea and bergamot flavours on the finish. As it cools down the sweetness slowly subsides and a more pronounced acidity begins to dominate the cup.
Recipe for V60:
95 °C water
300ml water
20g coffee
480 micron grind (24 clicks per comandante)
0:00 40ml water
0:35 100 ml water
1:15 80ml water
2:00 80 ml water
Total time around 3 minutes.
