Kilimbi — Rwanda / Honey Process

Kilimbi — Rwanda

Relation

Kilimbi Washing Station is the birthplace of Muraho Trading Company, as their first washing station, built in 2016. The elevation of Kilimbi lends itself incredibly well to the production of exceptional washed, honeys and naturals. Drying beds stretch across a large open plain, where airflow and sunlight have maximum exposure to the coffee as it dries. Kilimbi is only accessible by boat, with farmers travelling across Lake Kivu to deliver their farm’s harvests.

Cafe

Honey processed coffee are quite meticulous to dry, and this coffee is no exception. After 12 hours of fermentation, the coffee is laid on African drying beds to be exposed to sunlight for three hours per day, for 35 days. Having retained most of its mucilage, the beans have a striking orange colour during this process. The end result is floral with a delicate citric acidity, followed by notes of clementine and apricot.

Project

We sourced this coffee with Raw Material, who work in partnership with Muraho Trading Co for all of their Rwandan coffee projects. The goal of this partnership is to help affiliate co-operatives increase their production quality, and thus fetch higher prices for their coffee. This partnership is especially important for Raw Material to gain a better understanding of the particular challenges of coffee production in Rwanda.