February's Coffee: Kinini Natural

Cupping Notes: Black Tea, Dried Apple, Malt

Degree of Roast: Medium Light 418

Process: Natural

Varietal: Bourbon

Altitude: 5900 FT. 

Origin: Kinini Collective, Eastern Rwanda

In Kinyarwanda “Kinini” means “this big thing here.” A very fitting name for a project that is changing lives. Two dreamers, Jacquie Turner and Malcolm Clear, driven by a desire to help children of the genocide, started a school in East Rwanda. Years passed and the school opened, but they were not satisfied. They wanted to do more.

This time they wanted to make a generational impact on communities that was sustainable, and worked with something the community already had going for it. The idea: Coffee. The way they set it up was unprecedented. They signed leases with farmers in the area for land that was mostly unused. This lease stipulated that Kinini would provide farmers with coffee trees, training, and organization. The farmers would deliver their coffee to the Kinini Washing Station where they would be paid above market prices for specialty grade coffee. The dream became reality in 2017 when farmers had their first major harvest. 

We sourced this coffee through Crop to Cup. Kinini Coffee Cooperative has 48 members, 85% of them women. We are picking up on notes of dried apple, black tea, and malt, Happy Brewing!