Gitesi Imbuto #1 Rwanda
Roast Date17/02/25
Gitesi Imbuto #1 Rwanda
FARM INFORMATION
The name “Imbuto” is Kinyarwanda for “fruit”, referring to the fruit flavors and the whole fruit drying process of the natural preparation.
Gitesi is a private laundry owned and run by a father and son team, Alexis and Aime Gahizi. The washing station was built in 2005 and started processing coffee in 2006, located in the Gitesi sector in the Western Province of Rwanda. In the early years, they struggled to keep the washing station running and fought hard to make it a profitable business. Finally, in 2010, they were able to turn a profit and have since built a sustainable company.
Gitesi has a very strong relationship with the farmers in the local community, there are over 1,800 coffee growers who deliver cherry to Gitesi. The washing station has also implemented a performance-based bonus system, which is paid to farmers at the end of the year. The season for Rwanda can run from March to August, but for the most part, our picks come from May to July, cherry picking.They have very strict routines for receiving and sorting the cherries, the
cherries delivered by the farmers must be sorted by the farmers themselves, if this is not done adequately there are staff to do further sorting. The cherries are placed in a tank before mashing where the floats are removed and processed separately as a lower quality coffee.
Gitesi are CAFÉ Practices certified and Rainforest Alliance certified. They have a modern wastewater management system and produce organic or natural fertilizers through the coffee pulp. They also have a pilot program where farmers can learn about growing different vegetables, ensuring they have some income outside of the coffee season.
