Gitesi - Rwanda

This coffee comes from father and son producers, Alex and Aimé Gahizi’s Gitesi washing station in the west of Rwanda. Fieldwork have been working with the Gahizis' for a decade now, and value the relationship immensely.

Located in the Western Province, the Gitesi operation extends beyond just the washing station to a collection of around 20,000 coffee trees, owned by the Gahizi family. Here, they’re able to experiment with innovative sustainable agricultural techniques and different varieties of coffee trees.

While the coffee washing station was started by Alex Gahizi after the Rwandan genocide, today it’s largely operated by son, Aimé and his team.

Traditionally, the vast majority of coffee cultivated in Rwanda is a red bourbon variety, and this lot is no different. 

At Gitesi, ripe coffee cherries delivered daily from nearly 1,800 local smallholder farmers are hand-sorted before pulping — a process that removes the skin and majority of fruit flesh from the seeds inside. The coffee then undergoes around 16-hours of dry fermentation and a 12-hour freshwater soak before being dried on raised beds for up to 15 days.

Aimé's message for the people buying and drinking his coffee here in Australia, is:

“This partnership represents success and achievement to all of us, but this couldn't be possible without you — our customers. We value your trust in us and all your support since year one, we sincerely appreciate you! We are here to serve, satisfy your needs and ready to continue supplying you high quality coffee and be always consistent with our products. As you continue increasing the quantity of coffee you drink, make sure that you value the efforts and sacrifice of our farmers — at the same time you are contributing in increasing their income, so too their wellbeing. We are so excited and proud to be in your service."

This year’s washed red bourbon selection is sweet, fruit-forward, and rich. It offers a dried apple sweetness, some of the tingly character of forest fruits, and an aromatic baking spice finish.

This lot has been purchased directly by Fieldwork with the help of exporters Rwanda Trading Company, and importers Sucafina.

Region: Karongi
Country: Rwanda
Variety: Red bourbon
Processing: Washed