Rwanda – Kinini (NEW)

Description

The Northern Province in Rwanda is one of five that were created in 2006
as part of a government decentralization program designed to restructure
administration locally. Containing an abundancy of interlocking undulate slopes
and mountains, coffee here is frequently grown heavily intercropped on small
farms and gardens hewn from the hillsides. Satellite technology is used to
monitor leaf glare from the trees -any changes can be a sign of disease or
infestation and early detection pays dividends when it comes to clean cups and
good green.
Weather has proven changeable and inconsistent over recent years. Coupled
with high to extremely high altitudes, this has led to a widening of the cropping
period from late March or April (starting on the lower altitudes) right through to
December for the highest plots.
2019 has been the first year for the production of naturals allowing for a little
research first to ensure the output is of the quality we have come to expect
from Jacquie and Malcolm. Coffee is picked and brought to the Kinini washing
station where it is separated from the other lots to be processed. The cherry
must be delivered by 4pm on the day of picking and infrastructure has been
built in order to make this easier. As the washing station grows, raised beds
have expanded allowing the cherry to be spread out and dried for 48 days at
a depth of two inches, turning regularly to avoid over fermentation and allow
even drying throughout the crop. Each raised bed comes with its own marker
to ensure microlot traceability and yellow tarpaulin for quick covering in case of
rain.
In 2012, 38 of the 252 hectares were planted with Bourbon Mayaguez 139
seedlings, 2,000-2,500 in each hectare. This totalled nearly half a million new
trees, and access to nurseries and supply of new trees continues. The cultivar
itself most likely originated from the island of Reunion (The same place as
where the original Bourbon mutation was first noted), together with Jackson
that is also widely found in Rwanda, another Bourbon mutation. The third
commonly found cultivar, Bourbon Mayaguez 71, could have come from Ethiopia,
introduced via the Congo. Though there are now some new varietals being
introduced to the country through such programs as World Coffee Research,
the country still has Bourbon as the main cultivar.