Twongerekawa Coko, Rwanda

Twongerekawa Coko is a cooperative located in the Coko sector of Gakenke District, in the northern province of Rwanda. The cooperative works with more than 1,200 local smallholder farmers, each with an average plot of 1.3 hectares. This plot is FairTrade and Organic certified, and producers use organic fertilizers, such as manure, and coffee pulp mulch. This plot is 100% sourced from women farmers.

Gakenke District is located in northwestern Rwanda, near Volcanoes National Park, home to one of only three endangered mountain gorilla populations in the world. Like much of Rwanda, "the land of a thousand hills," the terrain is mountainous, rugged, and exceptionally beautiful. The rich volcanic soils, abundant sunlight, and tropical rainfall provide exceptional conditions for growing Arabica, with the Bourbon variety particularly flourishing in the high elevations of the Rwandan mountains.

The ripe cherries are carefully selected, first by hand and then by flotation in tanks of clean water. They are then pulped and dry-fermented for 12–18h. After fermentation, the coffee is washed with clean water under high pressure in sorting channels that also serve to classify the coffee by density (the densest beans are the highest quality selected for this microlot).

The coffee, still in its husk (parchment), is sun-dried on raised African beds for 14–21 days, depending on weather conditions. The coffee is covered during the hottest hours of the day, during rain, and at night to protect it from damage. Throughout the drying process, the cooperative's processing team carefully rotates and hand-sorts the coffee to ensure a uniform drying process and eliminate any remaining defects.