About this Coffee
Sitting on the edge of Nyungwe National Park in the valley of Bugarama, Nzahaha station processes cherry from approximately 1,200 farmers. The station was built in 2007 and lies nearly 300 kilometers southwest of Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
The sandy loam soil on the farms surrounding the town of Bugarama provides ideal water drainage and nutrient conditions for growing coffee. Sandy loam is considered one of the ideal soils (alongside volcanic red earth) for growing coffee. Coffee trees require soil that drains well, as an overabundance of water during the rainy season can lead to shallow root development and an oxygen-poor environment. Additionally, sandy loam and volcanic red earth tend to be relatively young soils and retain many of the elements that long-term agriculture typically depletes, including magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The fertility of the soil provides additional nutrients to the coffee trees and their growing cherry, creating even more flavorful and well-developed seeds (beans).
Harvest & Post-Harvest
All cherry is selectively handpicked and delivered to Nzahaha CWS. After cherry is accepted, station employees carefully visually hand-sort and remove any defective or damaged cherry. After sorting, the cherry is laid on drying tables. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 25 to 35 days for cherry to dry.
Once the cherry is dried, staff sort the dried cherry again to remove defects. In particular, they look for low-density, unshaped, or broken beans to ensure that only the highest quality dried cherry passes through the dry mill.
The station is certified Café Practices, 4C, and UTZ and has the capacity to process up to 1,500 metric tons of cherry a year.
