House Espresso - Rwanda Taba

Processing: Natural
Variety: Blend of local varieties
Altitude: 1750 MASL
Notes: Milk chocolate, Berries, Caramel
Cupping Score: 85

Acidity:  ⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜
Sweetness:  ⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜
Body:         ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜

Source

This coffee comes from Rwanda's Eastern Province, a sunny region where coffee naturally has more body and mild acidity. It is processed at Taba Station, which opened in 2020 and has 60 drying beds. The station receives coffee cherries from farmers registered with Coffee Villages, an organization founded by Tom and Sylvia Bagaza.

Before Coffee Villages, Tom spent nine years working on USAID PEARL and SPREAD development projects, where he directly supported farmers by organizing them into cooperatives, developing business plans, professionalizing management, and improving quality. Seeing the tangible impact of these efforts on farmers' lives, he wanted to reproduce this model in his own village, Taba. Together with Sylvia and Australian pastor Mark Zschech, they launched a project focused on coffee production as a way to improve local living conditions.

The processing station opened in 2020 in Rwanda's Eastern Province, Gatsibo District, Muhura Sector, Taba Cell, and works with approximately 75 permanent and temporary employees. The water used for processing comes from nearby hills.

Processing

Coffees from this region are picked ripe, sorted by flotation to remove debris and underripe coffee cherries, then dried on raised beds.

The coffee is regularly turned and mixed on the raised beds to ensure even drying, resulting in a clean and complex flavor profile in the cup.

Naturally processed coffees from this region have a sweet aromatic profile, mild acidity, and a full body in the cup.