Processing: Natural/Dry Processed
Varietal: Bourbon
 
Mukama is one of fourteen sectors in the Nyagatare District of Rwanda. It is the highest sector in the district and is bordered by two other districts: Gatsibo in Eastern province and Gicumbi in Northern Province. Coffee was first brought to Mukama by missionaries in 1950.
 
This lot comes from Mukama washing station in Mukama sector, Nyagatare district ,in Rwanda's Eastern Province. The washing station is managed by Jean Nepo Mukotanyi and the 10 contributing farmers are members of Akagera Coffee Project Ltd. These farms are amongst the newest established in Rwanda with the oldest having been planted in only 2010. Education is a core value of the Akagera Coffee Project and 20% of their net income is invested directly into community education initiatives.
 
This lot is fully washed, whereby ripe cherries are harvested by hand, then floated and hand sorted to select the highest quality for processing. These cherries are then mechanically de-pulped and fermented for 12-18 hours (typically overnight) to break down the remaining mucilage. After fermentation, the wet parchment is washed by high pressured water and grading is done throughout long channels to separate coffee by density.
 
Next, the beans are dried on raised beds for around 25 days depending on the climatic conditions. The parchment coffee is hand-picked and turned throughout to remove defects and ensure consistent drying process, as well as covered at night or during rain to protect against moisture damage. A dedicated quality controller tests the relative humidity daily until an optimum content of 12% is reached, after which the coffee is rested in parchment pending secondary processing prior to export.