Mahembe

Justin Musabyimana worked as a driver for a local agricultural organization, NAEB, for many years. Today, he owns a processing station called Mahembe, which he established in 2010 at his father’s coffee plantation. He grows coffee on eight hectares and buys the cherries of five hundred nearby farmers. Musabyimana has introduced several innovations that help preserve the unique flavours of local coffees during processing. The harvest runs from March to August and it peaks in May-June. Once delivered the cherries are immediately sorted and floated, then laid out on the drying tables in a single layer, with no overlapping cherries, to ensure even air circulation. During the drying period, Justin's team cover the beds with shading nets when the sunlight is too intense. Plus, while the coffee is on the drying bed, a team is hand-sorting it every day to remove any defective cherries.