8th and Roast

View Original

Our first Rwandan coffee!

We’ve been on the lookout for an amazing Rwandan coffee for a while now—so we were so excited to connect with Kenny Ntwali of Higa Coffee at a chance meeting at our Charlotte Ave location earlier this year.

Kenny, who is from Rwanda, studied in the US and now splits his time between the two countries, sourcing amazing coffees from East Africa and helping roasters like us build long-term partnerships with producers in the region. This is our first-ever Rwandan coffee, and we are honored to be able to share it with our customers!

In the cup, you'll find notes of grapefruit, pomegranate, apricot, and candied pecan. It's a delicious and totally unique coffee, and it will only be around for a limited time! You can buy a bag online today, or visit one of our streetside locations and try it on drip or manual brew!

To learn more about the Vunga Cooperative from our import partner, Higa Coffee:

Vunga sits near the borders of Uganda to the North and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the West. This tiny station is located between the steep hills of Nyabihu District. Vunga is a woman-owned and managed washing station. It is managed by Daphrose Uwimana, who has created a close-knit community and mentors a group of women farmers that produces special women-grown lots. Daphrose founded the cooperative in 2009 and is the driving force behind the exceptional coffee coming out of this station.

Daphrose saw a growing challenge for the station. Youth were not interested in becoming coffee farmers. In an effort to keep the tradition alive, Daphrose invested the money she made from coffee to purchase land with the plan to teach youth in her community about coffee farming. She hopes to inspire youth to enter the coffee sector and continue growing world-class specialty coffee.

To see a video from the co-op, click here!