MURAHO TRADING CO.
This is our fourth year working with renowned Rwandan producers Muraho Trading Co. The coffees that they produce are quite simply some of the best Rwandan lots we have tasted at La Cabra, and Gaudam and Carthick Anbalagan, the brothers that run the project, are among the most innovative producers in the country. Last summer, Carthick was able to visit us and cup together with the team in Copenhagen, sharing stories of the most recent harvest in Rwanda.
Return to Rwanda
Gaudam and Carthick were brought up in Rwanda but moved to Wellington, New Zealand as teenagers. After the devastating effect that the 1994 Genocide had on the country, the brothers felt they had to return and be part of rebuilding and recovering the land they had always called home. So they left life in New Zealand behind, moved back to Rwanda, and started work on the project that became Muraho.
Since then they have gone from strength to strength, and now own several stations throughout the coffee producing regions of Rwanda, exporting coffee to some of the world’s finest roasters. They have also innovated, having been the first to produce and export naturally processed coffees from Rwanda in 2016, after lobbying for government permission for several years.
The Shyira Coffee Washing Station (CWS) is the highest altitude of the Muraho stations, located in the northern Nyabihu district. Shyira’s remote location also means it is the smallest station; a big driver in the decision to build here was the greater impact that Muraho could have on the very rural population. Here, their genuine drive for social change led to a focus on access to speciality coffee knowledge, and importantly pricing.
Over the past couple of harvests, Shyira has consistently produced our favourite lots out of Rwanda. The weather conditions here are perfect for both production and processing, the volcanic soils are healthy, and of course the high altitude leads to slow maturing, sugar-rich cherries. This washed lot has a clear citrus acidity, backed up by a deep white sugar sweetness and the typical heavily savoury, almost musk-like floral aromatics we often find in Rwandan lots.
