RwandaRugali

Built in April 2016, Rugali coffee washing station sees an annual production of approximately 54,000kg of milled green coffee each year. The drying conditions at Rugali are ideal for ensuring optimal post-pulp drying, where coffee is laid on the drying beds between 12 pm and 3 pm, to ensure maximum exposure to the sun during the warmest time of the day.

Rugali has become an impactful example of a successful washing station for the specialty coffee market. It is a station that has in just a few years produced coffees that have been used in competitions worldwide and put the Nyamasheke District on the map for high-quality processed Rwandan coffees.

The station is located close to its smaller sister station Kilimbi. These two stations were the first stations in Rwanda to legally export natural and honey processed coffees. While production of natural and honey processed coffee is still monitored strictly by NAEB, the elevation of Rugali naturally lends itself to producing coffee in these styles.

For the washed process, all cherry is hand-sorted before a pre-pulp float, underripe or damaged cherry is removed, along with any foreign objects. Cherry is then floated in pre-pulping tanks removing any floaters and later pulped. Next, coffee is fermented in dedicated concrete fermentation tanks for an average of 12 hours. During this time, the fermented parchment is agitated several times through the day by way of ceremonial foot-stomping.

After fermentation, coffee is released into a large serpentine grading channel. This process also separates parchment into different density grades. During the washing process, parchment is continuously agitated to encourage lower density parchment to float and to clean any residual mucilage off the parchment. Once the parchment is separated into grades, it is given a final post-wash rinse. At this point, coffee is taken to a pre-drying area where the parchment is hand-sorted removing any insect-damaged, discoloured or chipped coffee. The parchment is laid out to dry and turned on a regular basis throughout the day for 30 days.