Rwanda Kinini Nkanga

In 2012, 38 of the 252 hectares were planted with Bourbon Mayaguez 139 seedlings, 2,000-2,500 in each hectare. This totalled nearly half a million new trees, that are now cropping. The cultivar itself most likely originated from the island of Reunion (The same place as where the original Bourbon mutation was first noted), together with Jackson that is also widely found in Rwanda, and a Bourbon mutation.  The third commonly found cultivar, Bourbon Mayaguez 71, could have come from Ethiopia, introduced via the Congo.

The Nkanga lot is a separation from amongst the 633 farmers that are currently using the Kinini washing station, chosen from trees at altitudes of 1925 – 2200 masl on south-westerly and westerly facing slopes. The coffee is grown on terroir that is provably excellent for producing coffee, with neighbouring areas producing Cup of Excellence winning lots already.

Coffee is picked and immediately taken to a collection point, where it is trucked down the hill to the washing station. Cherries need to be picked that day and there by 4pm in order to comply withe the strict quality procedures in place. The delivery is meticulously logged, and then taken to a brick hut at the top of a small incline for initial washing. Once washed, coffee is pulped and moved in to the fermentation tanks under water. Once complete,
the water is drained and the cherry washed again and transported via density channels to the resting tanks outside, where it rests again under water in the same manner as Kenyan coffees, before being taken finally to the rows of raised drying beds where it’s traceability is double checked, and regular hand sorting occurs with the turning. At the height of the day’s sun, the cherry is wrapped in mesh to prevent it over heating or drying too quickly.