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| September - pre-shipment samples in Michigan. |
The plots of coffee come from along Lake Kivu. We cupped two types, some from the Mushubati washing station and grown by the Ejo Heza women's cooperative, and others from the Nyagatari washing station -- both of these belong to the KOPAKAMA cooperative which has a total of about 700 members. The Ejo Heza women are about 300 total.
Back in June 2017, when Ruth Ann was in Kigali, she cupped several coffees from KOPAKAMA and other cooperatives, and selected the Ejo Heza Lot B and the Nyagatari for import. The sweet taste of pineapple, mango and orange mixed with clove were delightful! Scored at least an 86. That was a fun day at the wonderful Starbucks lab in Kigali. For those of you who don't know, Starbucks offers the coffee industry in Rwanda (all of East Africa, really) a wonderful resource by fully staffing an excellent lab in Rwanda's capital city, Kigali. They regularly host cuppings and meetings for all types of coffee companies, even direct competitors. Kudos to Starbucks!
That was the easy part! The contracting, financing and shipping arrangements take months of international coordination after the initial coffee selection. Finally, three and half months later, the pre-shipment samples arrived and I was able to cup them today. In another two months (end of November), coffee should be at the port in New Jersey. Some of it will be shipped to the Annex in Oakland, CA.
We are bringing in 80 bags of the KOPAKAMA Ejo Heza Lot B for spot sales. Call to get YOUR NAME on the list for arrival samples today! 734-717-6278.
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| June 2017 - Starbucks cupping lab - Kigali, Rwanda |
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| June 2017 - Starbucks lab staff are the best! |
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| Ruth Ann and Olivier GASHEMA of Misozi Coffee - Q grading samples. |
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