RWANDA | NOVA LOT 9 NATURAL | MEDIUM ROAST

• COUNTRY: RWANDA
  REGION: GICUMBI DISTRICT, NORTHERN RWANDA
  STATION: GICUMBI
  EXPORTERS: NOVA COFFEE 
  ELEVATION:  1800 - 2000 m.a.s.l.
  VARIETAL: RED BOURBON
  PROCESS: NATURAL
  IMPORTER: PROJECT ORIGIN

• CUPPING NOTES:
  BLUEBERRY
  OREGANO
  BAKERS CHOCOLATE
  
  
• MEDIUM ROAST
  FOR ESPRESSO AND MILK BASED COFFEE
  
  

ABOUT THE COMPANY / REGION / COFFEE

Nova Coffee was founded in 2015 by the wife and husband power duo, Agnes Mukamushinja and Felix Hitayezu. They have been producing coffee as farmers for over 25 years, and now, they support 2880 small holder coffee farmers in their community including 382 female farmers, producing 153 tonnes of specialty grade red bourbon coffee, with plans in place to increase that production to 230 tonnes by 2025.

Nova Coffee pride themselves on their ethically and socially responsible practices and have a strong commitment towards gender equality, education and health for the farmers, their families and the communities. They supply coffee trees and shade cover trees to encourage more people to grow coffee, they provide vegetables to grow for eating and selling, and the native bees are well cared for to promote healthy biodiversity as well as provide honey, a staple for Rwandan foods.
 
The company finances houses for the poorer families in the community and constructs infrastructure necessary for progression, including an early childcare center. Nova recognises the power and benefit of enabling women to work in their society. When asked, they say that women are “an integral part of Nova and we benefit hugely from having them as part of the Nova family, with their laughter, energy and passion for producing coffee. But each season, we lose a quarter of these young women from the team because of childcare responsibilities. With little or no income, it is then impossible for these young mothers to keep their children in primary school. This means our young generations are not receiving the education that will lift them out of poverty.”