Huye Mountain Coffee is a private washing station established in 2011 to provide farmers in the region with access to international markets and buyers of specialty coffees. Around 1,330 producers deliver their freshly picked coffee cherries to 26 collecting stations around the Huye community, where a truck visits daily to collect the farmers' coffee during harvest season. This unique coffee comes from the Huye Mountain in the Huye District, in Southern Rwanda, at growing altitudes ranging from 1600 to 2200 meters. This natural-processed coffee is dried on raised African beds for between 14 and 28 days, depending on the weather, during which time the coffee is turned regularly and rigorously evaluated for quality.

Country of Origin: Rwanda

Region: Huye District

Producer Type: Washing Station

Processing: Washed Sundried on Raised Beds

Growing Altitude: 1600-2200m

Plant Species: Arabica

Varietal: Red Bourbon

History of Coffee in Rwanda 

The commercialization of coffee came about gradually in Rwanda and coffee was always produced on smallholder farms. Independence brought some improvement to the coffee infrastructure as the government established more modern and centralizing processing. But this meant the government set the price they would pay for coffee and farmers had no other options. There was no focus on quality because there was no incentive whatsoever. Despite much of the coffee being Bourbon, there was no sorting or grading so all the coffee was commercial grade. Rwanda exported 642,000 bags of coffee in 1993 and 447,000 in 1994. Then, as something of a stark reminder of the genocide, Rwanda exported a mere 22,000 bags in 1995. Today, Rwanda exports only 43% of what it did in 1993, but current exports represent much greater value because for the last 20 years the focus has been on quality rather than quantity, supported by various initiatives of the Rwandan government and international NGOs. 

Growing Coffee in Rwanda

Rwanda’s ideal growing conditions are no longer wasted on poor processing. New washing stations have opened in all coffee growing regions, innovative cupping labs that arrive built into shipping containers, and cooperatives have been established. The vast majority of Rwanda's smallholder farmers grow high-quality Bourbon, well-suited to the high altitudes and volcanic soil of the region. For the last 10 years, Rwandan specialty coffees consistently rank among the finest in the world.