Something new, something old, something blue... no, we're not getting married. And there won't be anything blue either (or will there?), but this week we're traveling again . At least our boss Hardi is. As is so often the case, it's about personal contact with our farmers. In keeping with the two mottos: "Trust is good, but (when it comes to coffee quality) control is better" and "Friendships need to be nurtured." That's why Wildkaffee is traveling in East Africa this week - to Rwanda and Ethiopia to be precise . And then there's something old - and something new too.
Community Coffee Rwanda
Coffee from Rwanda is among the best in the world. The fine floral and fruity notes make the coffee so special. That's why coffee from Rwanda is a must in our range. As many of you already know , we like to support social projects in coffee - and we also have our own with the Coffee School Project in El Salvador. That's why we have been sourcing our green coffee from Rwanda from Eric Wright and Community Coffee Rwanda since 2018.
Eric is in his mid-thirties and is not only partly responsible for the consistently high quality of our coffee deliveries, but also for the existence of more than 800 farmers who work for him and with him . Eric actually didn't have much to do with coffee. The American studied law and worked as a lawyer in his home country for a few years. His interest and enthusiasm for high-quality specialty coffee only developed over the years. In 2017, Eric launched the Community Coffee Rwanda project and leased his first washing station in the south of the country. Two years later, he invested in an area in Rwanda that was not yet growing coffee for export at the time. This initially aroused a lot of skepticism among the locals. Nevertheless, Eric rented two more washing stations and has set himself the goal of promoting the cultivation and marketing of green coffee from Rwanda and working directly with local small farmers.
Rwanda - Buyers and Employees
This was well received and Eric currently employs around 800 farmers and managers. He relies on employees under the age of 25 for his management team. Experience has shown that they see coffee as a great opportunity for themselves and their country. The older generations, on the other hand, mainly see the profit that comes from the plant. They often find it difficult to grasp that coffee plants require a certain amount of care and attention. Community Coffee Rwanda sells its green coffee exclusively directly to friendly roasters - such as Wildkaffee . "The personal connection with my customers also motivates me to sell a consistently high quality product. The high demands I place on myself often mean that I have to sort out part of the harvest in order to guarantee the correspondingly high quality," explains Eric Wright.
But that is exactly what sets him apart from other exporters: for Eric, the quality and not the quantity of the green coffee is the most important thing. The coffee that ultimately reaches the roasters should give the end consumer a special taste experience.
Rwanda - Challenge and training
Sometimes it is a challenge for Community Coffee Rwanda to maintain this high quality in the green coffee. As already mentioned, the older farmers in particular often do not take sufficient care of their coffee plants. Nevertheless, they expect a constant payment from Eric. " My job is to encourage a change in thinking and to teach the farmers that special care and the higher quality yields that can be achieved as a result bring with it higher pay," explains the coffee lover. Unfortunately, it is currently still the case that the farmers also bring inferior coffee cherries to the washing stations. Eric, in turn, is forced to take the entire quantity and pay for it, even though only a small proportion is suitable for further processing.
That's why Eric doesn't just buy coffee, but above all trains and educates his employees and farmers. He likes to take on young employees who are trained in all aspects of coffee. So-called coffee scouts then regularly go into the mountains and train the farmers on their own coffee plantations. They show them how to grow the coffee plants, what care they need and how to recognize the best time to harvest the cherries. Eric also invests in so-called sprayers that remove pesticides from the plants.
Rwanda Umusazi and others
For example, Wildkaffee sources the beans for our Ruanda Umusazi Natural from Community Coffee Rwanda. The coffee cherries are fermented in tanks with all the trimmings for 72 hours and dried in the sun for 32 days. The green coffee beans are then sorted by hand three times . "We don't throw green, yellow and red fruits together, but rather sort them out precisely," emphasises Eric. This method preserves the aroma of the cherry fruit in the bean.
Umusazi means crazy - and that's how the coffee should taste. You can see for yourself - you can find our Umusazi natural here in the shop. And who knows what Hardi will bring back from his trip to Rwanda. In any case, he will cultivate his friendship with Eric and the farmers there and try out lots of coffee.
Ethiopia – Testi Coffee
There will be something new from Ethiopia. Here, Wildkaffee visits the company Testi Coffee , which specializes in specialty coffee . The family business was founded in 2009 and now has more than 20 washing stations across the country and more than 315 hectares of coffee cultivation area . Apart from the excellent specialty coffee there, Testi Coffee also runs social projects with "Project Direct".
The main mission of the project is education. Testi Coffee ensures that the children of the coffee farmers receive a government-approved education. Project Direct also provides all students with the necessary school materials annually. The project also helps develop the community based on their needs, such as electricity and access to clean water. For example , Testi Coffee is building an electricity plant for the village of Shantawane and a high school for the village of Hamasho Borena , both in collaboration with its partner Bless Bean Co. Ltd., who share the same passion for improving the lives of the students and the coffee community. "Our mission is not only to provide the highest quality coffee, but also to give back to those who played an important role in producing the specialty coffee we love today," emphasizes Testi Coffee.
Ethiopia – new specialty coffee
Ethiopia is widely regarded as the birthplace of coffee (although it is in constant competition with Yemen, which also claims the same title). What is certain, however, is that Ethiopia produces some of the world's most exceptional coffees. With their floral, citrus notes, Ethiopian coffees are among the most sought-after in the world.
We don't yet know exactly what Hardi will bring back from Ethiopia. With twenty washing stations in the country and more than 315 hectares of cultivation area, there are plenty of varieties to be cupped using a wide range of processing methods.
For the premium lots, for example, Testi Coffee prefers to dry the beans under-shed, i.e. not in direct sunlight. This drastically slows down the drying process, allowing the coffee beans to develop a unique aroma. We are excited to hear what Hardi has to say. He will be checking in on social media throughout the week. And if he's back with something new - or something more - you'll of course find out soon enough.
