This coffee is fully washed with Theresa's natural spring water, a local name that dates back to the 1980s when the Theresa family lived in the village and used this water to wash the coffee in their own way.

Many initiatives have been put in place by the Koakambu Cooperative to support the community:
- Creation of a coffee nursery to increase production
- 925 farmers are now UTZ certified
- Women's groups are supported in making handicrafts in the low season.
- Wastewater treatment for environmental protection in the surrounding community

COOP KOAKAMBU

Tropic Coffee works with more than 850 coffee producers grouped in the KOAPAMBU Cooperative who supply the coffee directly to the washing station (650 tons of coffee cherries/season).
Gisanga coffee is a 100% bourbon-arabica red coffee grown in the Mbuye area, Ruhango district in the Southern Province of Rwanda. This area is one of the best locations in the central "plateau" of the country with an altitude varying between 1,650-1,850 meters above sea level. This cooperative is located on the high mountains of the Nile-Congo.
Farmers are trained to harvest only ripe coffee cherries from the trees on their farm. During the harvest period (March-June), the cherries are picked by hand and delivered daily to the washing station by the farmers themselves, on foot or by bicycle. At the height of the season, they use a truck from a local collection point where the harvest is consolidated. Tropic Coffee always pays the farmers extra for their logistical expenses.

Once the coffee cherries arrive at the washing station, they are intensively sorted by hand to ensure that only the right cherries are selected. The coffee is pulped on the same day of delivery, in the evening, using a mechanical pulper that separates the coffee beans into different qualities. After pulping, the coffee is fermented for 10 to 16 hours in open tanks and graded in the morning using a flotation system in a canal, using clean water. In order to protect the environment, a wastewater treatment system has been installed.

The coffee is then transferred to sorting tables in the shade (pre-sorting) and then to open tables raised in the sun for drying.

 

THE STORY
OF THE PRODUCER

Tropic coffee Ltd is a family business founded in 2015 with the aim of supporting farmers by providing them with shared washing stations. What sets this company apart is that they operate in three different regions of Rwanda, with different altitude, climate, soil and rainfall. As a result, the organoleptic composition of their coffee offering has an interesting variation: natural, fully washed, honey and a natural anaerobic fermentation experience.

 

Sourced by: Belco