ELIE NZABAKUNDA

High in the hills of Rwanda’s Northern Province, Elie Nzabakunda cultivates 803 Red Bourbon coffee trees on just 0.64 hectares of land. His farm lies in Baliza Cell in the Ruli Sector, reaching 2,002 metres above sea level - an exceptional elevation where cool temperatures allow the coffee cherries to mature slowly and develop their remarkable sweetness.

This is a truly traceable coffee, produced entirely by Elie rather than blended from farms across the wider region. At 44 years old, he is an experienced and committed member of the Dukunde Kawa Musasa Cooperative, whose name translates from Kinyarwanda as “Let’s love coffee.”

Living close to the cooperative has allowed Elie to take full advantage of its agricultural training, farm visits and technical advice. His commitment extends beyond his own trees: he also works as a collection-site coordinator, receiving coffee from neighbouring producers and helping it begin its journey to the washing station.

During harvest, Elie selectively picks only ripe cherries and delivers them to Ruli, the cooperative’s first and largest washing station. Sitting high above a landscape of valleys and rolling hills, Ruli has become known for the precision of its processing and its focus on producing exceptional Red Bourbon coffees.

The cherries arrive within hours of picking and are floated and density-sorted to remove underripe or defective fruit. The selected coffee is pulped before undergoing a carefully controlled 12-hour dry fermentation. It is then washed and graded through long channels, separating the densest and highest-quality parchment.

Before drying, the wet parchment is meticulously hand-sorted in the shade to remove any remaining imperfections. It is then spread across African raised beds for approximately 20 days, regularly turned and closely monitored to ensure a slow, even reduction in moisture.

This attention to detail preserves the clarity and elegant fruit character of Elie’s coffee. In the cup, ripe peach and apricot create a bright, succulent sweetness, balanced by the soft richness of hazelnut. A refined and beautifully articulate expression of high-altitude Rwandan Red Bourbon.