Rwanda — Emmanuel Rusatira Baho Coffee Fugi Kiyonza Hill Red Bourbon (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍐 D'Anjou Pear • 🌿 Sage • 🍯 Honey • 🍋 Lime

DETAILS

• Producer: Emmanuel Rusatira — Baho Coffee
• Station: Fugi Washing Station — Kiyonza Hill Separation
• Region: Ngoma Sector, Nyaruguru District, Southern Province, Rwanda
• Varietal: Red Bourbon
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,800–2,000 MASL

INTRO

A hill-level separation from the Kiyonza farmers delivering to Emmanuel Rusatira's Fugi Washing Station in Nyaruguru — one of Rwanda's most thoughtfully run specialty operations. Traceable to a specific hill within the station's catchment, this Red Bourbon is a refined and elegant expression of Southern Rwandan coffee. In the cup: d'Anjou pear, sage, honey, and lime.

THE PRODUCER

Emmanuel Rusatira founded Baho Coffee after nearly two decades of experience managing washing stations across Rwanda for a large export company. When he established Baho, it was to freely pursue his own philosophies around quality, traceability, and community — and the results are evident across every station in his network. Fugi, located in the Southern Province almost directly on the border with Burundi, works with approximately 950 smallholder farmers who manage plots of around 170–200 trees each — intercropped with maize and potatoes, with coffee remaining their primary cash crop and most significant source of income.

This Kiyonza Hill separation is a testament to Baho's commitment to traceability beyond the station level — rather than grouping all deliveries together, Emmanuel separates lots by hill, recognising the individual farmers whose work produced this coffee and enabling quality-based pricing. Baho Coffee pays well above the nationally mandated price for cherry, and supports farmers year-round with seedlings, agricultural education, and loans for infrastructure investment.

Red Bourbon, one of the oldest and most revered Arabica varieties, thrives in the volcanic soils and cool, high-altitude conditions of Nyaruguru, producing the deep sweetness, complex fruit character, and refined acidity that have made Rwandan Red Bourbon so celebrated in specialty coffee.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Fugi involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Red Bourbon cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness by Kiyonza Hill farmers 💧 Flotation — Floated upon delivery to remove defects 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed at the station 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented to break down remaining mucilage 💧 Channel washing — Thoroughly washed through grading channels ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds for an average of 37 days

The extended 37-day raised-bed drying is the defining step — one of the longest drying periods of any Rwandan washed lot, it produces an exceptional depth of sweetness and a clean, well-structured body that allow the Kiyonza Hill terroir to express itself with full clarity and refinement.

THE CUP

A delicate and beautifully structured washed Red Bourbon from one of Rwanda's most community-focused and quality-driven producers — d'Anjou pear sweetness, a distinctive sage herbal note, warm honey, and a bright lime finish. A hill-level separation that speaks clearly of the people and the place behind it.

Flavour Notes

🍐 D'Anjou Pear 🌿 Sage 🍯 Honey 🍋 Lime