FILTER | RWANDA FUGI

TASTE NOTES: Plum . Lime . Raisin

ORIGIN: Rwanda

LOCATION: Nyaruguru

VARIETY: Red Bourbon

PROCESSING: Fully Washed

PRODUCER: Rusatira Emmanuel

ALTITUDE: 1,550 — 1,850 masl

Fugi washing station stands on the hill that gives it its name, in the Nyaruguru district of Rwanda's Southern Province a high-altitude corridor where farms climb from 1,550 to 1,850 metres above sea level, coaxing exceptional sweetness from the Red Bourbon trees that grow there. The station serves over 250 smallholder farmers across the surrounding hills, including the communities of Nyakizu and Kiyonza, processing their harvests with a level of care and detail that has made Fugi one of the region's most celebrated lots.

The farmers here are at the heart of everything. Most tend around 250 trees, intercropped with maize and potatoes, with coffee remaining their primary source of income throughout the year. Since Baho Coffee's founder Rusatira Emmanuel took ownership of the station in 2016, Fugi has grown into a true community anchor, offering farmers year-round support through small loans, seedling distribution, agricultural training, and Farmer Field Schools that spread knowledge across groups of neighbouring growers. Rusatira has a particular focus on uplifting women-headed families, a legacy of Rwanda's history, bringing isolated single mothers together and equipping them with the tools and resources to improve their lives and farms.

Red Bourbon cherries are selectively hand-picked during the March to June harvest and fully washed, undergoing hand-sorting, floating, pulping, and 12 hours of dry fermentation before a long soak in clean water. Parchment then dries slowly on raised beds for 33 to 40 days, an unhurried process Rusatira credits for the depth and longevity of flavour in the finished cup.

In the cup, expect an exceptionally clean and sweet coffee with juicy plum richness, bright zesty lime acidity, and a deep, lingering raisin finish.