Jolly Brew

Mwito sits in the Western Province of Rwanda, in a district called Nyamasheke - its mountainous belt rising off the shoreline of Lake Kivu. With the lake itself at 1,460m and slopes climbing past 2,000m, the West is Rwanda's traditional heartland — historically its largest producing region — and the high altitude, reliable rainfall, and cool climate make it well suited to growing quality coffee. Mwito is the most remote of all washing stations using the Rwandan Trading Company (RTC) to export, and when RTC acquired the mill in 2017, the farmers in the area felt that isolation keenly. Taken by the beauty of the site on the shores of Lake Kivu and by the community's commitment to growing quality coffee, RTC set out to bring investment to the area. It began by gathering a full list of the coffee farmers in the community and grouping them by neighbourhood to make agronomy training easier to reach. In 2019, RTC built a kindergarten for the coffee farmers' children, which now hosts more than 150 boys and girls aged three to six. The station also keeps cows that provide organic fertiliser for a five-hectare model learning farm, with the milk going to feed the students. The coffee from this area is outstanding, and the potential to build on it alongside the community is immense. The coffee is grown at around 1,347 metres and is prepared as both washed and natural, using Red Bourbon, with dry fermentation and drying on raised beds over eleven to fourteen days. This lot in particular is naturally processed. Harvest runs from April through June, with shipment following from July to October.This coffee has a lactic acidity and creamy mouthfeel, whilst still packing a juicy strawberry acidity. Its slightly boozy character and complexity may well trick you into thinking you’ve cracked open your first mulled wine of the year. Enjoy!