Muzo Ikizere – Rwanda

The Muzo Ikizere Women’s Group
This coffee was grown and produced by the Muzo Ikizere Women’s Group. The group was formed by Baho Coffee, bringing together 10 women producers in the area who are single-mothers/heads of families, to help strengthen the community by showcasing the value and importance they provide, and to function as a support group for the women. Women in the group all operate small farms near the Muzo washing station in the Genke district. Individually they grow and harvest their coffee but when it comes time to process, they all come together with the harvest and process it together as a group. This coffee provides these women with the highest price of cherries in the country and allows Baho Coffee to pay for their health insurance.

These are the names of the 10 farmers in the group:
Bibiane Mukambuguje
Regine Nyirabahinde
Triphine Akimanimpaye
Costasie Mukamana
Louise M Mukanoheri
Verena Mukagatera
Marguarte Uwimana
Puriquerie Ingabire
Donatha Nyirankurikiyinka
Vestine Nyiramajyambere

This washing station is owned and operated by Baho Coffee, a local company in Rwanda, striving for better quality coffee and improved living conditions for the farmers of Rwanda. While most coffee exported from Rwanda is done through large multinational companies, meaning the profit leaves the country, Baho coffee is based in the country and re-invests money into the coffee farmers of the country.

Muzo Washing Station/Natural Processing
Muzo washing station is situated high on the mountains of the region, at exactly 2,100 MASL. The altitude along with the fact that the area receives lots of sun and comparably less rainfall  tends to produce intensely fruity and sweet coffee, especially when they are natural process.

For natural process coffees, the washing station must be extremely meticulous during the process in order to extend the drying time without putting the coffee at risk of over-fermentation or mold which would create negative flavours. Natural processing starts by quality control and sorting, where then the good quality cherries are placed in bags for 12 hours. The next day the coffee is spread thin across tables in the sun and left to dry with close monitoring and turning every 2-3 hours. By altering factors, such as time in the sun and whether the coffee is covered in shade or mesh, they are able to carefully control and extend the drying time. The total drying time for natural processed coffees at Muzo is 50-55 days, providing wonderfully deep and complex flavours.