From source to sip
The story behind your next cup.
In the green hills above Lake Kivu, a group of women built their own washing station and named their coffee "Kawa Yacu," which means "our coffee." This honey-processed lot from Rwanda's Karongi District carries that ownership in every cup.
This coffee comes from the Women's Coffee Extension, an all-women producer group founded in 2017 by Aline Christine and Odette Uwamariya. What began as 350 members has grown past 700, and the group has used coffee revenue to fund family planning programs, nutrition education, and agricultural training. Members receive cows and goats, and production per tree has climbed from three kilograms to four. Their Mbizi Washing Station has doubled its output, moving from three containers of green coffee to six.
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The Coffee Story
The SourceThe Women's Coffee Extension
This coffee comes from the Women's Coffee Extension, an all-women producer group founded in 2017 by Aline Christine and Odette Uwamariya. What began as 350 members has grown past 700, and the group has used coffee revenue to fund family planning programs, nutrition education, and agricultural training. Members receive cows and goats, and production per tree has climbed from three kilograms to four. Their Mbizi Washing Station has doubled its output, moving from three containers of green coffee to six.
The cherries grow in the steep, volcanic hills of Karongi District in Rwanda's Western Province, near the shore of Lake Kivu. This is the heart of Rwandan coffee country, where Bourbon trees sit between 1,700 and 2,200 meters. At these high elevations , cool nights slow the cherries as they ripen, building the dense sugars and tight acidity that define great Rwandan coffee.
The CraftHoney Processing, City+ Roast
Rwanda built its reputation on fully washed coffee, but the women of the WCE produce washed, natural, and honey lots to show the full range of their fruit. For this honey lot, the cherries are pulped, then dried on raised patios with some of the sweet, sticky mucilage left clinging to the seed. That sugar caramelizes slowly during drying, adding body and a rounded sweetness that sits between the clean snap of a washed coffee and the deep fruit of a natural. If you want to understand where this method falls, our guide to coffee processing methods breaks down the spectrum.
We roast this lot to City+, a medium-light level that protects the citrus brightness while letting the chocolate notes settle in underneath. The goal is balance, not roast character, so the terroir does the talking.
The CupCitrus, Cocoa, and a Silky Finish
The first sips lead with tangy citrus, fresh orange brightened by a squeeze of lemon. As the cup cools, sweet milk chocolate rises to meet that acidity, and the honey process shows itself in a silky, syrupy texture that coats the palate. It is a clean, lively coffee with enough sweetness to keep things comfortable, the kind of cup that rewards a second pour.
