Rwanda Akegera Ikizere

Where in the world?

What’s the story?

Another delicious coffee from the Baho Coffee team over in Rwanda, this time from the Akagera Ikizere washing station. It’s all creamy chocolate body and sweetness, wonderfully rich, then given some yummy depth with blackcurrant and sweet lemon notes that balance the coffee beautifully.

We’ve taken a chance to offer our Mystere et Prestige drinkers something special with this excellent full bodied and sweet Rwandan coffee, an absolute bargain, and we only have 50 kilos, so get some whilst you can!

This coffee tastes even better when you know a little about the story of the people who have produced it, so read on below!

Baho Coffee started working with Akagera station in 2020 to help women in Rwanda, particularly single mothers, overcome social and financial obstacles. Baho Coffee formed a solidarity group called Izikere, meaning “Hope,” to empower these women. Through training, health insurance, loans, and fair prices for their coffee, the women have improved their living standards and gained confidence. The high altitude farms around Akagera station are ideal for coffee cultivation. During harvest, cherry is carefully handpicked, sorted, and processed. Baho’s meticulous drying process ensures high-quality coffee.

In their regular meetings, the women share their life experiences and success stories, learning from one another. In addition to the social acceptance challenges they face, they also confront poverty, as men are typically seen as the heads of households and primary breadwinners. To support these women, Baho Coffee has provided training on coffee growing, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and coffee quality management.
Members receive price premiums for their high-quality coffee and their women-produced status. Many of these women have significantly improved their living standards. Some have even purchased land to expand their coffee farms, while others have invested in small livestock, such as goats, pigs, chickens, and rabbits. Most importantly, the women now feel appreciated and empowered. Their progress serves as an inspiration to other women who wish to invest in themselves and transform their lives.

During the harvest season, cherry is selectively handpicked by farmers. At intake, staff sort cherry by hand and then float the cherry to check for density. The station accepts the cherry that passes both visual hand sorting and floating. Sorting work consumes over 70% of seasonal labor, its a painstaking process, but worth it!

Accepted cherry is then pulped before being fermented in plastic barrels for 48 hours and then washed in clean water.

After grading, parchment is spread on raised beds in the sun where the first 5 days are the most critical. Direct sunlight helps reduce the risk of mold or overfermentation during drying. Employees at all Baho stations are continuously sorting coffee as it dries on raised beds to ensure the coffee is clean. After the first 5 days, the parchment is moved to shade to complete Baho’s special, slow drying process. Parchment is sorted repeatedly throughout drying. In total, the parchment from Akagera station dries under careful scrutiny for up to 21 days.

It’s a lot of work, but has resulted in a fantastic coffee for you to enjoy.

Brewing Recipe