Description
ABOUT THIS COFFEE
One of this year’s suite of coffees from the boutique Kivubelt group in western Rwanda, this lot comes from smallholder farmers nearby to Kivubelt’s original estates. After establishing their own coffee estates in the Gihombo area, Kivubelt acquired 2 local washing stations to capture coffee long produced by surrounding smallholders, often grown at higher elevations than their own farms. Jarama Coffee Washing Station (Jarama CWS) is one of them, and the coffee produced here has come to be known as “People’s Farm” coffee, a clever way of illustrating the collective nature of a tight-knit smallholder community.
Nyamasheke District
The Nyamasheke district in Rwanda is gifted in terroir. The cool, humid climates of both Lake Kivu and the Nyungwe Forest National Park keep precipitation and groundwater abundant throughout the uniquely steep, hilly region. Kivu itself is part of the East African Rift whose consistent drift creates volcanic seepage from the lake’s bottom and enriches the surrounding soils. Coffees from this region are often fuller, jammier in balance and more layered than in the rest of the country.
Nyamasheke, like other districts along the lake, includes breathtakingly beautiful shorelines chiseled into steeply terraced agricultural escarpments, as well as fishing and tourism industries that keep the shores lively.
Kivubelt Coffee
Kivubelt was established in 2011 by Furaha Umwizey, after returning to Rwanda with a master’s degree in economics from Switzerland. Born and raised in Rwanda, Umwizey’s goal with Kivubelt is to create a model coffee plantation, as sustainable in agriculture as it is impactful in local employment and empowerment.
Kivubelt began with the acquisition of 200 scattered acres of farmland in Gihombo, a community in Rwanda’s Nyamasheke district that runs along the central shoreline of Lake Kivu. Under Umwizey’s leadership, Kivubelt has planted 90,000 coffee trees on their estates, which now employ more than 400 people during harvest months and is a kind of coffee vocational school for local smallholders interested in improving their farming.
“People’s Farm” Coffees
After establishing their own estates, Kivubelt acquired two washing stations in the immediate area, Murundo CWS and Jarama CWS. Combined, these 2 stations service more than 500 smallholders coffee farmers in the region. Kivubelt offers quality premiums and training programs for participating farming families. Smallholder coffee processed at the washing stations has come to be known as “People’s Farm” coffee, to acknowledge the teamwork required of smallholders and processors who, when acting together, can have the same commanding presence as a large single estate.
SPECS:
GEOGRAPHY
Region: Gihombo Sector, Nyamasheke District, Western Province, Rwanda
Altitude: 1700 – 1900 MASL
Harvest: March – May
PRODUCER
Smallholder farmers organized around the Jarama coffee washing station | Kivubelt Coffee
VARIETY
Local bourbon varieties
PROCESSING
Fully washed
NOTES:
FLAVOR Pear, starfruit, hibiscus, dark chocolate
BODY Juicy
ACIDITY Tart
ROAST LEVEL
Light – City
keith.a.schaal (verified owner) –
We loved this coffee. It had intense flavor without being bitter.
Vinh Le (verified owner) –
Please please make this into a subscription coffee as I would be your first customer 🙂 buying it bi-monthly 🙂 i love this coffee it’s light roast and fruity taste brings me to so many beautiful places 🙂
Nicholas Brown (verified owner) –
I mean it’s blueberry. Blueberry, so hot right now!
Modest just continues to knock it right out of the park. If you’re a mild coffee fan buy 2. You’ll thank yourself later!
Thanks for the abundant trips to flavor country!
Evan MacDonald (verified owner) –
Wow. Just wow. Almost punches you in the face with blueberry and plum flavors.
defmut (verified owner) –
One of the only coffees I like smelling more than drinking.
Caylee Kleber (verified owner) –
I just recently received my 5lb bag of this coffee. LET ME SAY I am NEVER disappointed in any coffee from Modest. In my humble opinion this coffee is superior to any coffee you will ever have. Needless to say I am obsessed and a forever customer of Modest Coffee. They sell their coffee out of Naperville farmers market and that is where the love began. I order a 5lb bag every month or so because I use an espresso machine and serve myself and others in the house this beautiful coffee daily. 5lbs is a great deal and lasts just long enough. I have had many different roasts and origins from them and again…. NEVER disappointed. Love what you guys do. Thank you.
Meghan Pokorny (verified owner) –
Holy guacamole this is good. Not a hint of sourness or bitterness, perfectly roasted. Even that last cold sip was tasty.
Maria Zaborina (verified owner) –
Excellent!
sparky (verified owner) –
Very very nice light roast. Deliciously smooth, sweet, and aromatic.
Michael Houghton (verified owner) –
Very nice. Floats my boat nicely. I’ll need to get more.
Jeanne Egizio (verified owner) –
It is possible that I have been caught sniffing bags of coffee from Modest. Only a little embarrassing, right? Oh, how we love our coffee here and these products are the real deal. In addition I love their philosophy of sustainability. I am a 100 percent planet over profit gal. This is now my coffee for life 😊.