Philippe Sinayobye
Lemon iced tea, rhubarb and blood orange. Great clarity and length, with a syrupy mouthfeel.
It is very rare to be able to get a coffee that is traceable back to a single farm in Rwanda, so we feel extremely fortunate to be able to share this very special microlot from producer Philippe Sinayobye. Still in his thirties, Philippe represents the future of specialty coffee production in Rwanda.
Philippe’s farm sits at 1,800 meters above sea level in the lush, green hills of Rwanda’s Southern Province. The farm is managed by Philippe with the help of his wife, Angelique Muhayimana, and a number of seasonal workers who are employed during the coffee harvest. In total, the farm produces around 6,000kg of cherry each year. Philippe’s coffee is processed at the nearby Kabuye washing station.
Most of the coffees we source from Rwanda are traceable back to a washing station, or sometimes a farmer group. Typically, washing stations in Rwanda receive cherry from hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of farmers who own very small plots of land – on average less than a quarter hectare, with just 300-600 coffee trees. Separation of such tiny lots is expensive and impractical, so the large majority of coffees are processed as a mixed lot from multiple producers. Lots are separated as day lots (ie. cherries that were all picked on the same day) rather than by a single farm or producer group.
Single producer microlots like this one are not common. In this case, it is made possible due to the size of Philippe’s farm, which totals just under one hectare and includes some 1,700 coffee trees (making it over double the average size farm for the region). Philippe is also a member of the Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa Maraba cooperative (or Maraba), who operate their own dry mill where they can process smaller lots individually, whilst minimising cost and maintaining excellent quality standards. His farm has been recognised by the cooperative as having particularly favourable conditions for coffee production, including a good amount of shade, and Philippe’s use of organic fertiliser. By processing his lot separately, Maraba can showcase regional distinction and service their buyers more successfully; for Philippe, the reward is in selling his whole crop, and building a name and market for his coffee internationally.
ABOUT MARABA KABUYE WASHING STATION
Kabuye is the second of four washing stations owned by the Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa Maraba Cooperative. Established in 2005, is located in the Maraba Sector of Huye District, in Rwanda’s Southern Province, sitting at an elevation of 1,700 meters above sea level, in rugged, mountainous terrain. Kabuye services around 597 members of the cooperative, who farm coffee locally.
The area around Kabuye washing station has ideal growing conditions for high-quality coffee, with high elevations, good rainfall and steady temperatures year-round. The farms that deliver to Kabuye are situated between 1,700-2,200 meters above sea level. Day to day operations are overseen by the station manager, Christian Ruzigama, while Christine Ilibagiza serves as head of QC. A total of five permanent staff and 95 seasonal workers are employed by the washing station – most of whom are women. The cooperative has recently upgraded its cherry sorting equipment and installed water treatment facilities at each of their washing stations.
Maraba Cooperative has consistently been recognised for quality, including numerous Cup of Excellence awards in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015 – no small accomplishment! Philippe’s coffee is representative of the exceptional quality that this cooperative can produce, which is in part due to their continued reinvestment in infrastructure and training. The co-op recently upgraded cherry sorting equipment and a water treatment facilities at each of their washing stations. They have also constructed a warehouse, where the coffee is safely stored before being transported to Kigali for final stages of milling and preparation for export.
Head here to learn more about the work of Maraba Cooperative.
HOW COFFEE AT KABUYE WASHING STATION IS PROCESSED
The team at Kabuye Washing Station take a huge amount of care in sorting and processing their coffee. Maraba operate a QC lab and own their own dry mill, enabling them to control quality all the way through to export.
- Cherries are delivered to the washing station on the same day as they are picked and are inspected and sorted to ensure only the very ripest cherries are processed. They are then put into a steel floatation tank and sorted by weight (and any floaters removed and returned to contributing farmer, to be sold at the local market) and pulped on the same day—almost always in the evening—using a mechanical pulper that divides the beans by weight (the heaviest usually being the best).
- After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight for around 12–16 hours and checked regularly, to feel the stickiness of the remaining mucilage, as this determines when fermentation should stop. The beans are then moved to raised screens for ‘wet-sorting’ by hand.
- As with most washing stations in Rwanda, women do the majority of hand-sorting. This takes place in two stages—on the covered pre-drying tables and on the drying tables. Washed beans are moved from the wet fermentation tanks onto the pre-drying tables, where they are intensively sorted under shade for two days. The idea is that green (unripe) beans are still visible when they are damp, while the roofs over the tables protect the beans from the direct sunlight.
- Next, the beans are moved onto the washing station’s extensive raised drying tables for between 14-21 days, where they are sorted again for defects, turned regularly and protected from rain and the midday sun by covers, ensuring both even drying and the removal of any damaged or defective beans. During this period, the coffee is also turned several times a day by hand to ensure the coffee dries evenly and consistently.
- After reaching 11% humidity, the coffee is stored in parchment and then when adequately rested it is carefully dry milled at the cooperative’s brand new dry mill in Huye.
WHY WE LOVE IT
We have been purchasing Philippe’s coffee after falling in love with it during a trip to Rwanda in 2019. We have purchased as much as is available to us every year, and are excited to continue working with Philippe in the future and as he grows his business further.
