Rwanda Women Coffee Extension (WCE) “Kawa Yacu” Peaberry. The last Rwandan coffee we brought you (March of 2021) is the one that got many of you hooked. It was so good, we kept it around for 6 months or so, until the harvest was no more. This Rwandan coffee might have the same affect. It is different, and it is special; grown entirely by Rwandan women coffee farmers. These ladies got it right! It is a Peaberry. As a reminder, Peaberry beans occur randomly, and rarely, on a coffee tree when a genetic anomaly causes only one bean to form inside the coffee cherry.   

You may be wondering what Kawa Yacu even means. These ladies are very proud of this coffee, and they should be, so they named it Kawa Yacu; “our coffee”.  The WCE was founded by Aline Christine and Odette Uwamariya in 2017 to give women a powerful voice in Rwandan coffee production. Today, there are more than 700 female coffee growers in the extension. This organization educates and empowers members by offering family planning assistance, nutrition programs, agricultural services, and even cows and goats to their members. They are truly changing Rwandan female coffee grower’s lives.

Since the WCE inception, yields per coffee tree have increased from 6.6 pounds to almost 9 pounds of beans. Future WCE plans include gaining Rain Forest Alliance certification, providing cows to every member, cover health insurance, creating new jobs by building a sewing center for young people, and even build a nursery school to help kids in the area.    

This coffee is really, really good. It is very smooth, full bodied, and a sincere pleasure to drink. When you drink this coffee, you may catch notes of red apple, orange, and brown sugar.