Producer: Nova Coffee
Farm: 80 Smallholders
Region: Northern Province
Altitude: 1,800-2,200 masl
Varietal: Bourbon
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Roast: Light
Notes: Tamarind, Cocoa Nib, Navel Orange

Imported by our friends at Crop to Cup:

"Passionately caring about the well-being of others and a meticulous attention to detail: those two traits sum up the Nova Coffee team. Felix Hitayezu (a pharmacist) and his wife Agnes Mukamushinja (a nurse) run a pharmacy called ‘Pharmacie Nova' in Kigali, and recently decided to dip their toes into a coffee venture, which they aptly named ‘Nova Coffee’. The result? A coffee program run with as much professionalism as a pharmacy.

"Nova's mission statement reads: ‘Being a women-centered washing station, Nova Coffee is committed to developing the neighboring community into specialized coffee farmers that produce the highest quality coffee as well as to enhancing social cohesion in order to create more jobs and eradicate poverty.'

"Three cooperatives deliver their cherry to Nova for processing. They are the Jyambere Muhinzi Wakawa Cooperative, the Dukorere Kawa Cooperative, and the Berwa Cooperative. This special lot was grown by farmers who live adjacent to the washing station in the Bukure sector.

"This anaerobic natural lot was an experiment and they hit it out of the park. Part of being a good manager is surrounding yourself with great talent, and Agnes has brought top-notch people into the Nova team in the past few years. Celeste is their quality control manager with over 20 years of experience, and a big part of the success of this lot. It’s rare to see him without his notebook, phone, and moisture reader. Thacien is their full-time, year round agronomist for farmers with a goal of bringing production up to 10 kilos per tree. Theresa manages their daily operations, farmer organization, and gender equity trainings. This list goes on and on. The cherries dry over the course of 18 days for roughly 9 hours a day, while being carefully watched over by Celeste. Suffice it to say, we are thrilled to bring this special group's coffee to the US market."