About This Coffee
Cyato washing station is located near Lake Kivu in Western Province, Rwanda. The station, built in 2017, is operated by Tropic Coffee Company and serves 25+ producers who cultivate coffee at the lofty altitudes of 1,800 to 2,200 meters above sea level.
Cultivation
Coffee is the main cash crop for producing families. Their farms are small, often just 250 to 350 trees each. Most families intercrop coffee with maize, beans, sorghum and other subsistence crops. They also keep goats and chickens, whose manure can be used as fertilizer.
Situated near Lake Kivu, farms sit on nutrient-rich silty and sandy soil that nourishes coffee trees and other crops. The lake also contributes to the cool and steady climate, with year-round temperatures averaging 22 to 25 degrees Celsius.
The area is also the location of Nyungwe Forest, one of Central Africa’s oldest rainforests. Thanks to Nyungwe, the region is home to a diverse variety of native animals and plants. Near Cyato, farmers avoid using fertilizers or pesticides and rely on wild bee populations to help pollinate coffee trees. They have seen up to a 60% increase in yields, thanks to wild bees.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Producers selectively handpick cherry and deliver it to Cyato washing station. At intake, cherry is sorted to remove any unripe or damaged cherry and placed in tanks to ferment. Cherry ferments anaerobically (without oxygen) in covered, air-tight tanks for 24 to 72 hours. Then, cherry is moved to raised beds to dry. Cherry is turned frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 30 days for cherry to dry.
Coffee in Rwanda
Despite its turbulent history, today Rwanda is one of the specialty coffee world’s darlings – for good reason! Our sister company in Rwanda does an amazing job of bringing the best that Rwanda has to offer to roasters around the world.
German missionaries and settlers brought coffee to Rwanda in the early 1900s. Largescale coffee production was established during the 1930 & 1940s by the Belgian colonial government. Coffee production continued after the Belgian colonists left. By 1970, coffee had become the single largest export in Rwanda and accounted for 70% of total export revenue. Coffee was considered so valuable that, beginning in 1973, it was illegal to tear coffee trees out of the ground.
Between 1989 and 1993, the breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) caused the global price to plummet. The Rwandan government and economy took a hard hit from low global coffee prices. The 1994 genocide and its aftermath led to a complete collapse of coffee exports and vital USD revenue, but the incredible resilience of the Rwandan people is evident in the way the economy and stability have recovered since then.
Modern Rwanda is considered one of the most stable countries in the region. Since 2003, its economy has grown by 7-8% per year and coffee production has played a key role in this economic growth. Coffee has also played a role in Rwanda's significant advancements towards gender equality. New initiatives that cater to women and focus on helping them equip themselves with the tools and knowledge for farming have been changing the way women view themselves and interact with the world around them.
Today, smallholders propel the industry in Rwanda forward. The country doesn’t have any large estates. Most coffee is grown by the 400,000+ smallholders, who own less than a quarter of a hectare. The majority of Rwanda’s coffee production is Arabica. Bourbon variety plants comprise 95% of all coffee trees cultivated in Rwanda.