Coffee Rwanda Emmanuel Rusarita

Coffee beans from Rwanda by Emmanuel Rusarita

Emmanuel Rusarita believes that "Thanks to coffee, people of different cultures become one community."

Philosophy and taste profile

The coffee of the fresh harvest, which we chose ourselves with our partners during a trip to Rwanda. It was Emmanuel who inspired us to bring more coffee from Rwanda, showing that the land of this region is still ready to surprise with due diligence on the part of farmers.

Taste profile: a very bright fruit coffee with a smooth body and a bouquet of nectarine, melon, currant and grapes.

About the country of growth

The land of a thousand hills. Rwanda is a small country on the African continent, located next to Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo. Rwanda is an agro–industrial country, more than 90% of the population is employed in agriculture, including tea and coffee cultivation. The temperate and mild climate with two rainy seasons combined with mineral-rich volcanic soil is ideal for coffee plantations.

About the farmer

Emmanuel Rusarita founded the Bajo Coffee company in 2016. His choice of name means a lot, because "Baho" is a very common word in Rwanda to comfort friends and family going through difficult times. Coming from a coffee-related family, he founded his company based on the philosophy: "Thanks to coffee, people of different cultures become one community." The company operates seven washing processing stations across the country and benefits from close relationships with local manufacturers. This connection with local traditions and cultures inspires them to develop new experimental processes or varieties. 

Emmanuel and his team believe in the traditional methods of previous generations and are trying to apply them to coffee processing.

About processing station

Ngoma station is located near the village of Rugeregere, in the area of Nyamashike. This station has been working with Bajo not so long ago, Emmanuel acquired it at the end of 2019. It is located in the famous Nyamashike district, in one of the most stunning and beautiful places, right on the shores of Lake Kivu. 780 farmers deliver berries to this station, which is about 575 bags of exported green coffee each season. Ngoma is considered a sister station to Akagera, which is only a few minutes away by car. 

Farmers collect and bring ripe coffee berries to the processing station. After receiving, the station sorts to separate the good berries from the unripe ones. The next step is to place the berries in water tanks to separate the heavy good berries from the light ones. After the berries have been separated, they are sent to African beds for further drying, where continuous manual selection takes place to further select the bad berries from the good ones. This process takes from 35 to 40 days until the coffee reaches a humidity of 12-12.50%, after which the coffee is sent for storage in a warehouse for 30 days. Next, the coffee will be sent to the pre-export processing station.

Photos of a coffee processing station in Rwanda

Video about the country where coffee grows - Rwanda

Packing, grinding and storage of coffee

Packing options: 250 grams, 1 kilogram and in drip bags. We can grind coffee for any brewing method, just check the Grind checkbox and select the grind size for your brewing method.

Thanks to packing in a nitrogen environment, coffee retains its bouquet unchanged for up to 6 months in a closed pack. After opening, store the coffee beans in a dry place without direct sunlight and grind immediately before cooking. It is best in our zip-fastener pack or in a jar with a vacuum function. Remember: oxygen is the main enemy of coffee, especially if it is ground in advance. If you are going away for a long time, coffee can be frozen once in the freezer.