Schadenfreude

Description

Single Origin from RWANDA, ISOKO A3 – Gasharu Coffee Farms

Source: Gasharu Coffee Farms

Process: Natural

Elevation: 1650 – 2100masl

Varietals: Red Bourbon

Tasting Notes: Smooth, caramel with strawberry and spiced chocolate, slight sweetness with tangid acidity; round and balanced body with a lingering aftertaste

Label: Blue

About the coffee

Gasharu coffee farms and washing station are nestled on the shores of Lake Kivu, just a stone’s throw away from Rwanda Nyungwe National Park. Gasharu Coffee established in 1973, is a daily owned business that started with a 14 year old boy’s determination and now aims to be a model for farmer owned coffee business in Rwanda, while also investing in community and social development projects.

The region’s elevated terrain, rich soil and favourable climate create an ideal environment for coffee trees to flourish. Perched at an altitude of 1,650-2,100 mass, these farms enjoy a climate characterised by ample rainfall and moderate temperatures.

There are a total of 1,750 coffee farmers from 12 villages, who produce a wide range of coffee types including fully washed, natural, anaerobic natural, anaerobic washed and honey-processed coffees.

The cherries for this lot are carefully collected at high altitudes and undergo a thorough sorting and floating process at the washing station. The beans are then dried on raised wooden beds for four to six weeks before being well stored, hulled and sorted by skilled women farmers. It is then packed in GrainPro and jute bags for export.

This coffee lot is called “Isoko”, meaning “Source” in Kinyarwanda, because it represents the essence of sustenance and the origins of coffee in Rwanda’s vibrant coffee farming landscape. Gasharu’s Rugori (Women’s Crown) community and social welfare program aims to establish a sustainable business while providing daycare facilities and basic healthcare services for women and children in the coffee farming community, as well as promoting economic development through a livestock and kitchen garden project.