We’ve recently been cupping several new crop lots arriving from Rwanda, and this particular offering has stood out above the rest. It delivers a remarkably balanced and sweet cup—clean and not overly process-driven—with a creamy body and layered acidity. Versatile and enjoyable, it shines both as a filter brew and as an espresso.

This coffee comes to us from Baho Coffee, a company founded by Emmanuel Rusatira and his family after nearly 20 years of experience in Rwanda’s coffee sector. Having managed multiple washing stations over the years, Emmanuel launched Baho with a clear mission: to raise quality standards, streamline supply chains, and provide fair, above-market prices to thousands of smallholder farmers across Rwanda.

Like in many African coffee-producing countries, Rwanda’s coffee farmers typically own small plots of land. Instead of investing in costly milling infrastructure, they deliver freshly harvested cherries to centralized washing stations for processing. Baho Coffee operates 10 of these stations, each one dedicated to meticulous, quality-focused processing.

The name Baho carries deep meaning in Kinyarwanda—"to have life, to be strong, and to overcome adversity"—a sentiment that reflects Emmanuel’s personal and professional journey. His commitment to resilience and improvement is echoed in Baho’s work with producers, empowering communities and advancing the country’s coffee industry.

Baho collaborates with a wide network of smallholders, offering generous premiums for cherry deliveries—often well above the government-set minimum price. Once collected, Baho takes full responsibility for processing the cherries into parchment and preparing them for export.

Emmanuel is one of the few Rwandans leading an export-focused coffee business, ensuring that profits stay within the country and directly benefit its communities. Unlike multinational exporters, Baho reinvests locally, with initiatives like distributing millions of coffee seedlings to smallholder farmers—an effort that could boost national coffee production by up to 10%.

This particular lot comes from the Muganza Coffee Washing Station (CWS), located in the picturesque Nyamagabe District, specifically in the Kibirizi Sector’s Bugarura Cell. Nestled in the heart of Kasebuturanyi village, the station is surrounded by fertile farmland ideal for growing exceptional coffee. The high-altitude terrain and favorable climate of Nyamagabe contribute significantly to the cup quality.

At Muganza CWS, cherries are carefully sorted, washed, and processed with great attention to detail, resulting in coffee that captures the distinct terroir of the region.

Like most Rwandan specialty coffees, this lot is 100% Red Bourbon—renowned for its sweetness, complexity, and elegant profile.

Process: Ice Drip Anaerobic Washed.

Upon arrival at the station, freshly harvested cherries are meticulously sorted by ripeness to ensure consistency and quality throughout the process. The selected cherries then undergo a carefully controlled anaerobic fermentation, enhancing their complexity and amplifying their natural flavors.

After fermentation, the cherries are depulped to separate the beans from the fruit. What follows is a distinctive stage of aerobic fermentation, where the beans are covered with a blanket of coffee cherry husks and topped with ice. This method slows down the fermentation process, allowing for deeper flavor development and contributing unique characteristics to the final cup.

Once fermentation is complete, the beans are fully washed to remove any remaining mucilage and prepare them for drying. They are then sun-dried in the open air, allowing the beans to gently reach optimal moisture levels—resulting in a clean, vibrant coffee with exceptional clarity and structure.

In the cup: Blood orange, rhubarb, dark chocolate, subtle floral. This coffee stands out for its balanced acidity, creamy body and honey sweetness.

Minimum resting period: 10 days from the roast date for espresso roast, 8 days for filter roast.