Rwanda Ukuri
Origin: Nyamasheke District and Nyaruguru District, Rwanda
Producer: Various Smallholders
Washing Station: Ngoma and Akagera
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Altitude: 1500 - 1850 MASL
Variety: Red Bourbon
This Ukuri lot surprised us from the 2023 crop year and, indeed, challenges some of the founding principles of specialty coffee sourcing. As many know, since 2019, we have been engaged in a highly focused, deeply detailed traceability program with Baho Coffee, in which we seek to work consistently with the same producer groups year after year. This has led to the creation of groups based around specific identities - widowed and single women, seniors, and youth - while also around specific microregions. For us, the impetus to do so is to go beyond the traditionally accepted traceability to the washing station only so that we can get closer to the smallholders who make the coffee possible, and consistently work with them year after year. Many of us in the specialty coffee community share a common bias: the belief that meticulously separated micro lots will likely produce a higher quality cup. This process may also highlight unique characteristics—often referred to as typicity—and bring forth the elusive concept of
terroir.
Introducing Ukuri, which means "truth" in Kinyarwanda. This lot was created by Emmanuel this year on the premise that he values the movement toward greater traceability in coffee sourcing, as long as it leads to increased recognition and support for coffee growers. However, he firmly believes that Rwandan coffee is inherently exceptional. This, in short, is the Ukuri lot Emmanuel wishes to share with us. Emmanuel chose two standard deliveries to the Akagera and Ngoma stations and processed them using his standard anaerobic natural protocol. Once dried, these coffees were milled and blended, a very obvious faux pas in today’s specialty market.
The result - the truth, if you will - has spoken for itself. A late harvest sample was shared with us by Emmanuel, and as soon as we tasted it, we were certain it should be added to the purchase, even though it went directly against many of our own deeply held beliefs about the importance of the traceability projects we've been working on together. In the end, though we may not ever be able to recreate this exact lot with the same people, the traceability standards at the washing station do allow us to know that each farmer was paid at the prices shared above. We hope that this Rwandese truth will resonate with all those who drink it, and that in so doing, we consider that sometimes we may be overthinking something that doesn’t need to be.
About Akagera Washing Station
Akagera entered Baho Coffee lineup when Emmanuel began managing at the beginning of the 2020 season. It’s located in the famed Nyamasheke District, set in between the beautiful Lake Kivu and Nyungwe National Forest. Emmanuel attributes the cool, humid air of this particular area to the unique flavours produced in coffee here. Akagera is amongst Baho’s smallest stations, with only 460 farmers delivering cherry for a total of ~380 bags of exportable green coffee each year. This allows for the managers to focus exclusively on quality, whereas some stations have to manage commercial grades as well as specialty. At the end of 2019, the station was being managed solely by the Kobakanya Cooperative (translated, Cooperative of Coffee Growers of Nyamasheke) - a legally registered cooperative of 50 producers that collectively established the washing station a few years ago. Kobakanya had unfortunately been struggling to find consistent market access the past few years and was beginning to have a hard time managing the station properly. Thus, they approached Baho Coffee with the opportunity to purchase the station. Emmanuel is excited about the high-quality potential of which he will now be able to exclusively export as the owner. It’s an interesting place, as though it is situated on Lake Kivu, it is largely a tea-growing sector of the country. Emmanuel is convinced the specific microclimates around the station will make for high-quality coffee.
Due to the high demand for cherry in this area, with sparser growing and serious competition due to a significant downturn in overall production across Rwanda, all coffees purchased from Akagera station received a farmgate price that was 50% above the nationally mandated farmgate price. Of course, Emmanuel always seeks to pay higher than this average to encourage good producers to work with him, but Akagera pushed this to the extreme this year. Additionally, Kobakanya and their group of dedicated out-growers will now have established security in guaranteed high prices for cherry and access to the specialty coffee market through Baho. Emmanuel plans to work in partnership with Kobakanya, helping them remain organized and providing additional tools to grow in the future, such as coffee seedlings and training.
About Ngoma Washing Station
Ngoma is a new station in the Baho Coffee lineup that Emmanuel purchased in late 2019. It’s located in the famed Nyamasheke district and is set in one of the most stunningly beautiful locations, directly on the shores of Lake Kivu. 780 farmers deliver to this station, which translates to around 575 bags of exportable green coffee each season. This makes it one of Baho’s smallest stations and likely will be the focus of much of the quality program for years to come. We’ve been anxiously waiting to try samples from Ngoma, as Emmanuel has been talking very highly of the area, the condition of the station, and the quality of coffee from surrounding producers, for many months. This station was previously independently owned but counted as their main client a major multinational buyer, one who is notorious for paying low prices for parchment coffee and even going so far as to pressure NAEB into lowering the national farmgate price for their own benefit. This led to the owner of the station deciding to sell, and rather than see this multinational purchased it, and chose to sell it instead to Baho. There is an ongoing appellation project in Rwanda, where they seek to identify Lake Kivu coffees and mark them in a similar way as what has happened with coffees in many regions of Colombia. Ngoma will be front and center in this appellation project for Baho, especially given that coffees from this station have placed well in the Cup of Excellence in years past. Initial samples this season were some of our favourites, as they were all consistently complex and bursting with florals.In Emmanuel’s words:
“To be honest, this is my best ever coffee washing station (CWS), with a good view and romantic attractions in Rwanda. It is located on the shores of Kivu Lake with multiple options to connect with islands and other cherry collection sides. It is a very quality potential area, and in the ongoing Rwanda coffee appellation project, this CWS is selected because it has a unique profile that might be only found in hills around this CWS.“
Processing Ukuri
Both of these lots underwent the same processing at different stations. Cherries were delivered then floated and sorted at the washing station level. Cherry beans are placed in plastic barrels, and clay pots with water (10% of the cherry volume) are covered and placed under shade for a period of (72) where the barrel is continuously turned to ensure even mixing of the water with cherries. The next morning, the cherries were deposited into sealed plastic barrels and left to ferment in the shade for 72 hours. After fermentation, cherries are dried for 35-40 days, and then milled to remove defects. Finally, beans are sorted, packaged, and prepared for export.