The types of coffee grown in Rwanda include Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon (Arabica) with varieties like Harrar; POP3303/21; Jackson 2/1257; BM 139; BM 71.
Coffee plants flower in September and October and between March and July, the coffee cherries are ready for harvest.
The annual quantity produced in Rwanda ranges from 20,000 to 22,000 metric tons. We have seen an increase of fully washed and ordinary coffee export volumes and revenues every year.
The major markets of Rwandan coffee are the United States, Europe and Asia (Switzerland, UK, Belgium, Singapore, etc.)
Rwandan coffee has been one of the best brewed in the world. It has scooped some international awards such as “Best of the Best” and “Coffee Lover’s Choice” in a competition that attracted brands from nine countries around the world.
It was also among the top 10 winners of International Barista Championship that took place in China, 2019.
In 2018, Rwandan coffee started trading on the world’s largest e-commerce platform, Alibaba after the Rwanda Government entered into a partnership with the e-commerce giant to trade Rwandan products on the online market.
So far, sales volumes of Rwandan coffee have grown by 700% on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s cross-border B2C platform.