This varietal of our Bourbon Huye Honey originated on the Island of Bourbon (now Reunion) and is a mutation of early Arabica species from Ethiopia.

The Simbi Coffee washing station is located in the Huye district of Rwanda’s southern province

and services 1,850 smallholder coffee farmers who all grow high quality Arabica red bourbon

Coffee.
In Simbi’s first year of operation, a sample was submitted for The Cup of Excellence competition

and achieved 9th place, an incredible achievement given its newcomer status. Such an accolade has inspired its owners to focus on maintaining high quality while increasing production.

The washing station was established as recently as 2013 with the construction of a 300 metric

ton per season cherry processing facility, and a 2.8 tons per hour pulping machine. Following the pulping of freshly delivered cherry, the coffee is wet fermented and then the beans are sorted by density using water filled grading channels. 

The wet parchment is dried under cover for 24 hours before being moved to uncovered drying beds for an average of 15 days. During that period the coffee is continually hand sorted by an army of brightly clothed women who are meticulous in their removal of defect beans.

Coffee Growing in Rwanda

Despite the tragedies of genocide and civil war which shook the world in 1994, Rwanda is an

incredibly beautiful and culturally rich nation which also produces exceptionally good coffee. In

Rwanda coffee has brought hope for a better future since those dark days and the country is now rightly heralded as a top producer of fine speciality coffee.

Rwanda is blessed with ideal coffee growing conditions that include high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and an abundance of Bourbon coffee trees. The vast majority of Rwandan coffee is produced by smallholders of which there are thought to be around half a million with parcels of land often not much larger than just one hectare per family.

 Coffee is grown in most parts of the country, with particularly large concentrations along Lake Kivu and in the southern province. Rwandan smallholders organise themselves into cooperatives and share the services of centralised wet-mills – or washing stations as they are known locally.

Bourbon Varietal 

This varietal – also used for the coffee that you’re reading about – Bourbon Huye Honey – originated on the Island of Bourbon (now known as Reunion Island) and is a mutation of early Arabica species from Ethiopia. The leaves are broad and cherries can ripen red, yellow or orange. This varietal is known for its amazing complex acidity and great balance.

Simbi Coffee Washing Station

Simbi Coffee Washing Station was built in 2011 and 2012, the season of 2013 was the first for

this investor in the region. That season, Simbi CWS employs an average of 85 people over a

period of three months, out of them around 80% are women.

In the first season of working, in Rwanda Cup of Excellence 2013, our produced coffee came 9th with a score of 86.78 % in 159 samples after three selections with national and international

cuppers, In the COE 2015, Simbi coffee came in 7th place with 88.89 %. The COE of 2018, Simbi Coffee came to 17th place with 87.62 in 28 winning lots from 150 lots selected nationwide.

The cherries are well handpicked, washed, well sorted after fermentation step, fully sun dried on

dry tables and hand sorted to ensure only the best coffee beans are processed.

Simbi uses the wet fermentation method, and density sorting using grading channels and water.

They then transport the wet parchment for 24 hours of covered drying before moving the

parchment to uncovered drying beds for an average of 15 days. In Simbi’s first year of operation

it placed 9th in the Rwanda Cup of Excellence competition, and has since focused on maintaining the quality while increasing the production.