Between December to February, the coffee trees transform the steep volcanic slopes of Rutsiro district as the cherries turn a vibrant red. It is harvest time.
The Kopakama dry mill is in Rubengera, Karongi, close to our cooperative farms.
Our faithful blue tractor takes the coffee from the CWS along our mountainous track to the mill. It has breathtaking views taking across the hills, lakes, and coffee fields.
Our mill employs 600 women, including 400 youth. Cooperative members can also be employed there as well as on the farms. It is a reliable source of employment in the community.
The Kopakama dry mill was built in 2017. It processes 2,000MT of parchment coffee, 300MT of certified organic coffee grown by the Kopakama cooperative members, and the remainder from other farmers.
We are privileged to handle and process this specialty coffee – the product of the hard work of local farmers and wash stations.
Our aim is to ensure consistent high-quality and to support higher profits being returned to the farmers.
Kopakama produces fully washed organic, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified Arabica. Our coffee is processed through our three CWS:
Organic fully washed specialty coffee
Organic fully washed specialty coffee
Conventional fully washed specialty coffee
Our three CWS are supported by 30 permanent staff and 100 casual workers, providing a reliable source of income and upskilling in the local community.
The coffee is processed on the same day it arrives at the CWS, ensuring maximum freshness and efficiency.
At the washing stations, the harvested cherries are sorted and processed through the various steps of floating, de-pulping, fermentation, washing, and soaking.
They are pre-dried on tables under shade, then fully dried in the sun, for 4-6weeks. Finally, they are transported to our dry mill for hulling and green bean sorting.
We ensure the highest standards throughout each step of the process. We are proud that all our coffee is USDA organic certified, and Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade certified.
Throughout the processing of our specialty coffee, everyone works diligently and carefully to hull, sort and bag as per each buyer’s specifications.
Kopakama coffees grade as screen 15+, SCR. 17/18, and PB with consistent cupping scores of 86+. We take traceability and quality very seriously. Producing specialty coffee means attention to detail at every stage.
Every day, as the sun rises, our team greets the next batch of coffee pods and parchment. The sound of voices, song, and stories fill the mill as many hands scrutinize the cherry pods and parchments for stones or impurities before the hulling process begins.
We add extra polish by removing some of the silver skin (which can add a bitter note) attached to the green beans. This safeguards the fine flavour of our certified organic coffee. As the sun’s rays filter through the mill and the day warms up, the coffee is sized using round or rectangular sieves of various gap sizes. The coffee beans get sorted by size and shape as required by our individual contracts.
The denser beans are moved to the higher end of the table leaving the less dense beans at the lower end. This ensures a consistent roast for customers – lighter beans roast faster.
Our skilled workers then colour sort and hand check to ensure consistent colours, shape, and overall appearance.
Finally, the coffee is carefully packaged in grain pro and jute bags of 60kg. They are stored in our warehouse ready for export from June to September.
We love every part of the coffee journey. All coffee is cupped, and corresponding sensory profiles are described and logged to meet specialty coffee requirements.
Kopakama also provides 1kg samples that are properly wrapped, labelled and mailed to the potential buyer for approval or screening.
We work with the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). For our coffee industry, NAEB set regulations and policy about production, processing and export. They facilitate export of coffee and act as a bridge between producers and buyers overseas.
We are fortunate to work with excellent roasters and partners internationally. We regularly export our green beans to the US, UK, Switzerland, Japan, China, and Australia.
From February to June, our ripe, certified organic coffee cherries are harvested by hand and immediately delivered to one of our three coffee washing stations (CWS), all within 1km of the farms.
