This is our first time buying from the Gitesi washing station in Rwanda and also one of two coffees that are the first we've bought from Nordic Approach.
Gitesi washing station is located in Karonga, in Western Rwanda near Lake Kivu. It was built nearly 20 years ago in 2005 and is owned and run by father and son team Alexis and Aime Gahizi. The Gahizi family are from the Karonga and have very strong relationships with the wider coffee growing community there, which is very important for a washing station that works with well over a thousand coffee farmers.
Aime has a degree in engineering and has built a very successful water purification system at Gitesi that has been used as a blueprint for other nearby washing stations. This is good from a cup quality perspective but more importantly in terms of waste water polluting.
The station buys cherry from many farmers (upwards of 1,800) and makes a second payment tied to profit on high quality lots but in addition it does a lot for the coffee growing communities. One thing is they have a coffee nursery where they grow between 15,000 - 50,000 coffee trees that they give freely to farmers depending on need. They also provide fertiliser both organic and chemical and even provide healthcare to 100 low income farmers each year.
Elevation: 1750 Meters above sea level
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Cup score: 86
Price paid per kg: £10.44
Process: Full washed, dried on raised African
style beds for 11-32 days
