Name: Coko

Producer: Smallholder Farmers

Origin: Gakenka District, Coko Sector

Varietal: Bourbon

Altitude: 1600-2200 metres above sea level

Process: Washed

Flavours: Green Apple, Black Tea & Chocolate

Harvest: March-July  

Importer: Covoya




Where is it from?

In Rwanda, coffee has brought hope for a better future since the dark days of the Civil War that shook the country back in 1994. Coffee has been used as a vehicle for positive change in the years that have followed, and the country is now rightly heralded as a top producer of fine speciality coffee.

Coffee was introduced to Rwanda in 1903 by German missionaries. As a cash crop, it received government backing but the focus was very much on quantity rather than quality. However, the impact of the world coffee crisis in the late 1990s, when prices fell for several years below the cost of production, caused many Rwandan coffee farmers to rethink their position. Working hand in hand with the Rwandan Coffee Board (OCIR Café), international NGOs such as USAID, the Gates Foundation, and other coffee-focused organisations, a speciality coffee sector was created in the early 2000s.

Rwanda is blessed with ideal coffee growing conditions that include high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and an abundance of Bourbon. 

The vast majority of Rwandan coffee is produced by smallholders of which there are thought to be around half a million with parcels of land often not much larger than just one hectare per family.

Coffee is grown in most parts of the country, with particularly large concentrations along Lake Kivu and in the southern province. Rwandan smallholders organise 

themselves into cooperatives and share the services of centralised wet mills 

or washing stations as they are known locally. Flowering takes place between 

September and October and the harvest runs from March to July, with shipments starting in August through December

Twongerekawa Coko is a co-operative based in Coko sector, Gakenke district, in Rwanda’s northern province. The co-op works with over 1,200 local smallholder farmers, each with an average plot of 1.3ha in size. This lot is Fair-trade and Organic certified with the producers making use of organic fertiliser such as manure, and mulching with coffee pulp.

This lot is 100% sourced from women farmers

 

The Region

The head office and farms of Twongerekawa Coko Cooperative are located around Buzanganjwiri Mountain where King Mibambwe III Sentabyo lived between (1741-1746) and Mother of Kigeri IV Rwabugiri called Nyirakideri IV Murorunkwere in (1853-1895).

Gakenke district lies in North West Rwanda near the Volcanoes National Park, home to 1 of only 3 populations of endangered mountain gorillas in the world. Like much of Rwanda - “the land of a thousand hills” - the terrain is mountainous, rugged and exceptionally beautiful. Rich volcanic soils, plentiful sunshine, and tropical rainfall provide exceptional conditions for the cultivation of arabica, and the Bourbon variety particularly excels in the high elevations of Rwanda’s mountains.

The Process

Ripe cherries are carefully selected, first by hand and then by floatation in clean water tanks. The cherries are then de-pulped and dry-fermented for 12-18 hours. After fermentation the coffee is washed with clean high- pressure water in grading channels which also serve to further sort the coffee by density (the denser beans being of the highest quality selected for this microlot).

The coffee still in its husk (parchment) is then dried in the sun on raised African beds for 14-21 days depending on climatic conditions. The coffee is covered during the hottest part of the day, during rain and at night to protest against damage. Throughout the drying process, the co-op’s processing team carefully turn and handpick the coffee to ensure a consistent drying process and remove any remaining defects

Roast

Brew

Filter & Espresso