Vibrato --

Rwanda. Fully Washed

Location: Bushekeri Sector, Nyamasheke District, Western Province

Producer: 22 smallholder producers

Processing Station: Ngoma I Baho Coffee

Importer: Sundog Trading

Varietal: Red Bourbon

Process: Natural, dried "low and slow" on raised beds for 36 days

Elevation: 1600 - 1900 MASL

From Sundog: 

"After nearly 20 years of direct involvement establishing washing stations and managing coffee sector development projects throughout Rwanda for other companies, Emmanuel Rusatira decided to branch out with his family and start their own operations. Establishing Baho Coffee allowed Emmanuel to freely focus energy towards implementing his own philosophies and pushing high quality protocols at stations that he saw as direct investments for both his family and for the communities that they’re located within.

Coffee production in Rwanda is built on the washing station model, whereas thousands of smallholders deliver cherry to centralized processing stations. Because the average farm size is less than a hectare, volumes per farmer are extremely low; and thus, selling to washing stations makes much more financial sense than building costly personal mills. In 2017, Baho Coffee was launched with just two stations; they’ve now grown (and continue to grow!) to own 10 different stations, with representation in each potential coffee producing region of the country.

It’s an absolute honor to be working with a partner like Emmanuel and Baho Coffee. We’re continually inspired by his genuine curiosity, passion for quality, and focus on community building. The family of Baho-owned stations are not only producing consistently vibrant washed, honey, and natural coffees, but also pushing the boundaries of processing with innovative fermentation techniques. Emmanuel is impressively proactive with education and outreach throughout the regions that Baho stations operate within. Baho goes far beyond simply paying higher prices for coffee and works closely with producers year round - distributing seedlings, educating on proper agricultural techniques, giving loans for infrastructure or quality of life investments, and generally being a positive force in the community and friend to all."