Horsham Coffee Roaster - Rwanda Karisimbi Lot 4264 - Relationship Coffee

Karisimbi washing station was setup during the 2015 harvest and these lots come from their second year of production. There are about 300 farmers who deliver coffee cherry to the washing station, located at nearly 2000masl, making it one of the highest in the country.

The microclimate and environmental conditions at the washing station can make a big difference to the ability to dry parchment successfully. We’ve visited several operations that have drying tables in small valleys or surrounded by dense woodland. These are often areas with high levels of humidity and temperature changes throughout the day can be detrimental. This affects both the cup quality of the coffee and the speed at which it ages. Because Karisimbi is located at such high altitude the drying conditions are very stable.

After delivery the coffee cherry is processed during the evening and into the night. The fruit is removed using a Penagos ecopulper. This machine is economical in its water usage and removes almost all of the fruit leaving a minimal amount of mucilage. After pulping the coffee is fermented in water for a period of 6 hours. After this time it is washed and graded using grading channels. Finally the coffee is laid out on raised african beds and hand sorted meticulously during the drying process.

The owner of Karisimbi, Immi Camarade, would like to enter the Rwanda Cup of Excellence competition next year and she decided to process some small, very high quality lots this year in preparation. Lot 4264 is just 7 bags in total and is one of this years practice coffees