The Gashonga washing station can be found in the tiny corner of Rwanda that lies between the Congo and Burundi. It is located in the Rusizi district in the West and is made up of around 1592 members who grow their coffee at 1,683 metres above sea level.
The coffee is handpicked by the smallholder members and delivered to the Gashonga washing station where it is pulped. This initially separates the dense beans from the immature unripe beans before going into fermentation tanks for around 12 hours. Once the fermentation process is completed, the beans enter the washing channels where floaters are separated further and the dense beans are cleaned of mucilage. The washed beans will then enter soaking tanks where they can sit under clean water for between 18 and 24 hours. This soaking process allows amino acids and proteins in the cellular structure of each bean to develop which results in higher levels of acidity and complex fruit flavours in the cup. The beans are then transferred to the initial drying tables where hand sorting for defects begins - unripe beans are supposedly more visible whilst the beans are still damp. This first stage of drying can last around 6 hours before the beans are gathered and laid in thicker layers for the remaining 14-20 days of the drying period (dependent on weather and temperature). The dry parchment coffee is then rested for around 1 month before being milled, sorted for defects and then immediately packed into GrainPro for export.
