Champagne

Kinini began life as the charity, ‘A New Beginning’, in 2008. Working in the Rulindo District of Rwanda, the charity helps Rwandan citizens displaced during the 1994 genocide. During its infancy, the charity built a school and health post to provide access to education and healthcare for the community. 10% of funds Kinini receive for the sale of their coffee go to supporting a health centre and school. Over a decade on, the Kinini project and A New Beginning are flourishing. Kinini has developed a global reputation for the speciality coffees they produce and have become synonymous with positive impact in Rwanda.

In 2012, 38 of the 252 hectares in the Northern Province of Rwanda were planted with Bourbon Mayaguez 139 seedlings, 2,000-2,500 in each hectare. This totalled nearly half a million new trees, and access to nurseries and supply of new trees continues. This regeneration was led by Jacquie Turner and Malcolm Clear. Not just limited to new trees, new roads were built to improve access for the many farmers that have to deliver their days picking to the washing station by 4pm in order to maintain quality. The Improvements now encompass a roasting facility, covered with a donation from our Full Circle event, the introduction of natural and other processing methods in 2019, and more recently a worm bed for turning the coffee cherry into organic fertiliser. New water treatment facilities at the washing station prevent pollution into local water sources. Kinini has also started to harvest spring water for processing and rainwater for fermentation. This has had a positive effect on quality whilst also reducing reliance on alternative water sources.

Coffee is depulped on a 4 disc McKinnon pulper, there are a number of tanks for fermentation both with and without water, leading to channels to both the soaking tanks and then down to the drying beds. Each raised bed comes with its own marker to ensure microlot traceability and yellow tarpaulin for quick covering in case of rain. Satellite technology is used to monitor leaf glare from the trees -any changes can be a sign of disease or infestation and early detection pays dividends when it comes to clean cups and good green. The washed process gives us cleaner brighter fruitier flavours in the cup.