EASTER BLEND

Colombia Marcelino Camayo 

Marcelino Camayo, a 43-year-old coffee grower, cultivates his crops in the San Antonio area of Inzá, Cauca, on his farm named El Guadual. Covering 4 hectares, with 3 hectares dedicated to coffee, the farm is located at an altitude of 1,950 meters. Marcelino has been growing coffee for 8 years and has been part of Asorcafe for the past 6 years. He grows varieties such as Caturra, Tabi, and Pink Bourbon, with a total of 11,000 trees, yielding approximately 2,500 kg of green coffee annually.

Marcelino uses a fully washed process for his coffee. He allows the cherries to oxidize until the next morning before pulping them, then waits 6 hours after pulping before washing. This careful timing ensures the coffee reaches the solar dryer at midday, allowing it to release water more efficiently and reducing the risk of fungal growth. The coffee is dried in parabolic solar dryers. Marcelino also grows yuca, beans, and plantain on his farm. 

Asorcafe, the cooperative Marcelino belongs to, was founded on July 11, 2003, and is based in Pedregal, a village in Inzá. It has 290 associates, all small producers with an average farm size of 1.8 to 2 hectares. The cooperative's plantations are situated at altitudes ranging from 1,500 to 2,100 meters above sea level, cultivating varieties such as Caturra, Pink Bourbon, Tabi, Colombia, and Castillo. The producers mainly use a fully washed process, involving picking ripe beans, fermenting for 20-40 hours, washing, and then sun drying. Some members have also begun experimenting with honey and natural processes to diversify their offerings.

Rwanda Kageyo   

The Kageyo washing station is located in the Kageyo sector in Rwanda's Western Province, in the Ngororero District. The station itself is around 15km outside of the small Ngororero Town. At 2013 metres, the station covers a tiny area of just 1.3ha. Built in 2009, RTC took over the management of Kageyo in 2013.

Today the management is overseen by Jean de Dieu Iyamuremye with 6 full time staff the year round and around 80 seasonal staff during the harvest months. 1540 smallholders contributed coffee to 2022's production. in the first year of production, the station was doing around 100 mt of cherry, that has since doubled with the help of RTC's Agribusiness training programme, of which all farmers in the area are members.

Kageyo is also the name of the hill where the washing station seats, and just a few meters from the station, there is a historical site where the King of Rwanda had built a palace as one of the places he would stay if he was visiting the region. The first European, a German Count Von Gotzen who arrived in Rwanda in late 19th century, travelled all the way to Kageyo to meet Rwabugiri, the king of Rwanda at the time. The high elevation and good rain fall of this historical place, couple with fertile volcanic soil make it one of the best places to produce a great cup of coffee.