Rwanda is blessed with ideal coffee growing conditions that include high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and an abundance of Bourbon. The vast majority of Rwandan coffee is produced by smallholders of which there are thought to be around half a million with parcels of land often not much larger than just one hectare per family. Coffee is grown in most parts of the country, with particularly large concentrations along Lake Kivu.

This lot comes from the Nyamasheke District in the west of the country from the washing station of Kanyege (named so for the location which is between Macuba and Kanyege sectors) – this is a privately owned station operated by the owner and manager Alphonse Kayijuka. Alphonse purchases ripe red cherry from the 1200 surrounding smallholder farmers and processes it at his station which is located at around 1886 metres above sea level. All of the coffee is processed using the eco-friendly Penagos depulper which uses less water than other models. The coffee then undergoes dry fermentation for around 12 hours before being dried on raised beds for between 15 and 22 days. This careful drying and detailed lot separation lends the cup a sparkling character with good clarity and sweetness.