Muzo Giko Hill
Roast degree
purple grape – floral – dark chocolat
Description
Country: Rwanda
Location: Northern Province, Gakenke district
Variety: Red Bourbon
Altitude: 1570 to 2100 masl
Process: Anaerobic Washed
Roast degree: Medium
Partner importer: Semilla
Project: Baho coffee
Recipes
Espresso:
- Use 18g of coffee.
- Aim to extract 37 – 39g of liquid.
- Extraction time should be 28 – 32 sec.
- Water temperature: 93 – 94°C.
Filter/Drip/Immersion:
- Start with a ratio of 1:16 (coffee to water).
- Example: If using 20g of coffee, target around 320g of brewed liquid.
- Water temperature: 93 – 94°C.
Pour Over:
- Start with a ratio of 1:16 (coffee to water).
- Adjust coffee amount according to your brewing tool. Example: Using 15g of coffee.
- Bloom: Use 3 times the coffee weight for the bloom. Wait 30-45 seconds. Example: Bloom with 45g of water.
- Pours: After blooming, divide the final brew amount into two pours. Example: Two pours of 97g each.
- Total brew time: Aim for 2:45-3:30 minutes, but focus on taste rather than exact time.
- Water temperature: 93 – 94°C.
Don’t forget to play around with the variables and have fun!
Enjoy
Process
Natural/dry process
The first step, regardless of process, is cherry sorting. Under shade, every cherry is sorted to
ensure only the ripest are chosen and that any visibly defective cherries are removed. Next, the
hand-selected cherries are placed into tanks where they go through multiple rounds of flotation to
separate the defective beans.
Emmanuel has developed a unique method for drying naturals that allows him to both keep the
rate of drying extremely slow while also ensuring the flavours are clean and free of
over-fermentation or mould defects. Immediately after sorting and floating, coffee cherries go
directly onto raised beds to begin drying.
First, quality control is handled at delivery via hand sorting and floating. The good quality
cherries selected in this process are stored in bags for 12 hours, allowing the mucilage to stick to
the bean. Cherries are then turned out onto drying tables the following morning, with no more
than 150kg being placed on each table, and the cherries are stacked no thicker than 2 to 4 c,m
depending on the weather.
Coffee is spread thin and turned very frequently, every 2 to 3 hours throughout the entire process.
When coffee is at a moisture content of 20%, it is wrapped and covered with mesh netting for 2
days. At a moisture content of 17%, the cover is opened, and coffee is moved to beds under a
completely shaded shed for 5 days. It is then moved back out to full sun until a moisture content of
14% is reached. At this point, the coffee is moved again under the complete shade until it slowly
dries to a final moisture content of 12%. Total drying time for natural processed coffees is 50 –
55 days.
Context
Traceability That Empowers Farmers
Imported by Semilla and sourced through Baho Coffee, this coffee is produced by 10 small-scale growers on Giko Hill, with some farmers tending just 60 coffee trees.
Unlike conventional supply chains that blend harvests, this fully traceable lot ensures:
✔ Higher premiums for farmers (paid per quality, not volume)
✔ Long-term partnerships that invest in their future
✔ Community recognition—rare for smallholders in Rwanda
By choosing this coffee, you’re helping to dismantle the cycle of anonymous commodity coffee and rewarding meticulous farming practices.
Muzo Giko Hill group:
Nkorebarye Francois,
Bakinahe Leonard,
Ubudehe Kanini,
Kuraduhakwe Jean,
Phenius Namayabagabo,
Mburano Telesphole,
Laban Uwimana,
Muhawenimana Mathias,
Bugenimana Consolle,
Bikorabagabo Joseph
Transparency
2024 Rwanda national farmgate price: 480 Rwanda Francs per kilogram of cherry.
2024 Baho farmgate price Humure: 720 RWF/kilogram.
2024 FOT Kigali price to Baho for Ngoma and Akagera: $3.74 USD/lb
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