About the Producer

Tropic Coffee was started by husband-and-wife team Christophe Rugira and Divine Mutuyimana in 2015. Meeting in 2014, Divine was a fountain of coffee knowledge, being born into a family with a long history in coffee trade. Christophe was a complete coffee novice, but was excited to jump into the industry headfirst.

They now own and operate three washing stations: Gisanga in the South, Kabyiniro in the West and Cyato slightly more inland near the Nyungwe Forest, each processing coffee from neighbouring producers. One of their main focuses is training female farmers in the best agricultural practices - from seedling preparation, to planting and harvesting. Kabyiniro washing station was built primarily to serve the Kopiguka Cooperative, a group of farmers local to Kabyiniro who joined together in 2003. The building of Kabyiniro station meant that farmers were able to sell their cherries locally, cutting down on long and expensive transport to the closest station.

The coffee plants in this region are planted in such a way that leaves space in between each plant to grow piles of organic mulching. These methods have been shown to increase the quality of the cup, increase soil fertility, and biodiversity, while also minimising the risks of insects and fungi.