Region:
RWANDA, KARONGI, GITESI
Manufacturer:
WORKING WITH GITESI STATION FARMERS
Farm/Station:
GITESI STATION
Process:
WASHED
Variety:
RED BOURBON
Altitude:
1750-1800 M
Harvest:
2022
Supplier:
NORDIC APPROACH
Profile:
Filter
Tasting Notes:
DRIED FRUITS, PEACH, BLACK TEA
Tasting Score: 86.25
Roaster's Notes:
Orkun Üstel
As we began the new import process to replenish our stock in the middle of the year, our main goal was to make room for new coffee origins in our selection that we hadn't featured before. Particularly, we aimed to diversify African coffees. That's why we had a variety of coffee samples from Tanzania to Uganda, Burundi to Rwanda, on our cupping table. Among them, Rwanda Gitesi stood out with its delightful fruity notes, setting itself apart from other African coffees. 😊
Gitesi Station is a private washing station owned and operated by Alexis and Aime Gahizi, a father and son duo. Nordic Approach has been working with this station for a long time. The station was built in 2005 and started processing coffee in 2006, located in the Gitesi sector of Rwanda’s Western Province. In the early years, the family struggled to keep the washing station operational and had to work hard to make it a profitable venture. Finally, in 2010, they managed to turn a profit and have since established a sustainable company.
Alexis is originally from the Karongi District where Gitesi is located, and his family has been cultivating coffee in the region for generations. As a result, Gitesi has strong relationships with the local community and serves over 1,800 coffee farmers who bring their cherries to the Gitesi Station. To improve the quality of the cherries brought in, Gitesi introduced a performance-based bonus system. Thanks to this system, the quality of the cherries brought to the station has steadily increased with each harvest season.
Processing of Coffee:
Each harvest season, the farmers working with Gitesi Station carefully pick the ripest and highest-quality cherries to be processed at the station. The relatively cool climate in Rwanda allows for more controlled fermentation. Before the coffee is taken to the fermentation tanks, it undergoes a 70% removal of its mucilage and outer skin. Subsequently, the coffee is dry-fermented for 10-12 hours. To complete the fermentation process, the parchment is sorted and washed in channels, separated based on density, and left to rest in tanks under clean water for 16 hours.
For drying, the parchment is initially placed on pre-drying tables under shade, where it is still wet. At this point, manual sorting takes place as it becomes easier to identify defects. The parchment is then dried on African drying beds for up to 15 days, and during this period, the coffee is covered with shade during the hottest hours of the day, at night, and during rainfall.