Key origin info:

Producer: small-holder growers from the Nyamasheke district
Processed at: Rugali washing station

Region: Nyamasheke
Altitude: 1600-1650 masl

Variety: Red Bourbon
Process: Natural, sorted & dried on raised beds

Exporter: Muraho Traing Co | Importer: Raw Material

Cup profile: Jammy & sticky sweet, spiced plums & butterscotch

Purchase history: Since 2022

About Rugali & Muraho Trading Co:

Coffee for this lot was grown by small-holder farmers delivering their cherry to Rugali washing station in the Nyamasheke district on the shores of Lake Kivu. Rugali, where the coffee is processed, is owned and managed by Muraho Trading Company. Run by two brothers with strong roots in the community. Muraho is a young innovative coffee company with a mission to showcase exceptional quality of Rwandan coffee whilst having a positive impact in the local communities.

Rugali is one of six washing stations owned and run by Muraho. Established in 2016, Rugali was the second station that Muraho built. Thanks to its central location in the area and the tireless effort of the Rugali affiliated families, over the last few years it has quickly grown to be the biggest and busiest of Muraho’s stations and it is now fondly referred to as the beating heart of the company and indeed also the local community.

With the conscious effort to build on the success and positive impact of the station in the local community, Muraho have made the decision to build their dry mill (usually located in larger cities for convenience) at Rugali providing further employment opportunitiess in the rural area. Now all of the coffee produced at the station based around Lake Kivu are transported here for dry-milling and sorting in preparation for export. Furthermore, once the dry-milling needs of Muraho’s stations are met, the dry-milling services are offered to other in the region.

Next to their exquisite traditional washed lots, Rugali, along with its little sister Kilimbi, were some of the first stations in Rwanda to legally produce and export natural and honey processed coffee and they continue to excel in the production of these.