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Awards pour in as Rwanda produces world’s best coffees at tasting fair

Tuesday October 16 2018
kahawa

Over the years, Rwanda has mastered the art of growing, processing and exporting some of the best coffee in the world, giving South American and East Asian coffee producers a run for their money on the global market. FOTOSEARCH

By EDMUND KAGIRE

When coffee grown by Rwanda’s Ngororero Coffee Washing Station was awarded both “Best of the Best” and “Coffee Lover’s Choice” awards in the 3rd annual Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards on October 5, it was the first time coffee from any part of the world was bestowed the two prestigious awards.

Those who follow closely Rwanda’s coffee growing culture were not surprised: Rwanda has been putting in sustained efforts to produce some of the world’s best coffees.

Over the years, Rwanda has mastered the art of growing, processing and exporting some of the best coffee in the world, giving South American and East Asian coffee producers a run for their money on the global market.

In New York last week, after many rounds of blind tastings by an international, independent jury of top culinary and coffee experts, coffee from Ngororero, a district in western Rwanda was confirmed as showing the country’s mastery of coffee art.

The Rwanda coffee was announced the “Best of the Best” by US-based Illycaffè, a global leader in high-quality, sustainably grown coffee, beating some of the world’s top coffee varieties of the 2017/18 harvest.

The ceremony attended by Philotée Mukiza, the production manager at Rwacof Exports Ltd — a coffee processor and exporter, who picked up the awards on behalf of Ngororero, celebrated the best coffees from across the world.

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“The award winner was chosen from among the world’s top lots from the 2017/2018 harvests in nine countries,” a statement from Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award organisers said at the gala attended by all the selected growers in New York.

Its finest blend

“We are excited by this recognition. It is important for the entire production chain, right from the farmer to the exporter. It adds value to our produce,” Ms Mukiza told Rwanda Today.

The Rwandan variety beat coffee beans from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India and Nicaragua to the top prize following intensive analysis at Illy’s quality lab at its Trieste, Italy headquarters.

All nine finalists from four continents contribute ingredients to the legendary global Illy blend, celebrated for decades for its unparalleled richness, complexity and consistency.

“It is an honour and a pleasure to recognise Ngororero Coffee Washing Station and Ms Muzika for their achievement, and that of all of our finalists, who are focused on producing the highest quality coffee through sustainable methods,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of Illycaffè.

Illycaffè is an Italian family business, founded in Trieste in 1933 with the aim of discovering and offering the greatest coffee to the world.

Illy is one of the world’s most popular coffee brands, especially its Illy 100 per cent Arabica blend.

The specialty coffee is made of nine of the world’s best selections of Arabica.

Each day more than 7 million cups are served in over 140 countries in cafes, restaurants, hotels, offices and homes.

According to the organiser, it is the first time both honours have been bestowed on one coffee lot in the history of the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards, after several rounds of blind tasting by an international independent jury of top culinary and coffee experts, as well as consumers across the globe.

Rwanda’s National Agricultural Export Development Board says there over 300 coffee washing stations in Rwanda, scattered around the Southern and Western Provinces.

Right from the process of planting coffee trees, tending to them and the berries, picking and taking them to the coffee washing stations, the process is rigorous and delicate.

The Western district of Rutsiro, at Kopakama Co-operative, men and women engage in a laborious process of picking, pruning and nurturing the coffee trees until the berries are ripe.

The berries are then delivered them to the coffee washing station where they undergo washing, drying and peeling to produce organic coffee.

The coffee is then sent to the processor for packaging before export to Western countries.

Export targets

“It is a process that requires farmers to be attentive to how we grow and harvest our coffee, otherwise it will not get sold,” Dominique Habukwiha, 30, a coffee farmer and member of Kopakama, with some 300 trees, told Rwanda Today.

The Rutsiro-based co-operative is arguably the oldest in post-genocide Rwanda, having started in 1998; it currently has close to 700 members including 262 women.

While some farmers say they do not always get as much as they invest in the cash crop, they are starting to reap the benefits with Rwandan coffee steadily gaining popularity in Western capitals and competing with some of the world’s best coffees.

Rwanda currently exports some 23,000 tonnes of coffee, generating $58 million in revenues in the 2017/18 financial year.

Kigali, however, targets exports of at least 24,500 tonnes of coffee this financial year, according to the National Agricultural Export Development Board.

Rwanda has also been running initiatives aimed at improving the quality of coffee produced in the country, including the Rwanda Cup of Excellence, which annually awards the very best coffee in the country and sources market for it in an auction.

This August, Twumba coffee from Karongi district, in Western Rwanda emerged the winner of the Cup of Excellence.

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