Europe is now able to sample Rwanda’s high quality coffee at the ongoing festival in Amsterdam in The Netherlands.
The event (May 15-17) has been organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in The Hague in collaboration with This Side Up (importer of coffee) and Sweet Cup (coffee roaster and retailer).
Ambassador Jean Pierre Karabaranga,Rwanda’s envoy in the Netherlands said, “key industry players and of course many other interested parties will discover and enjoy the specialty coffees from Rwanda.”
“This is an invaluable experience for coffee connoisseurs,” said Ambassador Karabaranga.
Rwanda’s coffee specialties at the festival include; Coko, Iwacu and Rushashi. The country is blessed with particularly good coffee-growing condition volcanic soil and plenty of sun and equatorial mist.
Most of the coffee in Rwanda is grown at elevations ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 meters above sea level. Coffee plants flower in September in October and cherries are harvested from March to July.
Rwanda exports more than 3,698.6 tonnes of Coffee annually to mostly China, Germany and United States.
The Rwandan booth at the festival, diversity of Rwanda coffee (filter and espresso) can be experienced: three very diverse coffees – Cup of Excellence winning cooperatives and private law mills.
The Amsterdam Coffee Festival in the Netherlands is the event where an innovative subculture of fans experiences coffee, tea, chocolate and food.
Rwanda also is using the festival to court potential investors and coffee retailers. Its attended by more than 5,000 visitors from across the globe.
Lennart Clerkx of This Side Up a firm known for direct marketing of Rwanda coffee says, “I will answer any question about starting and maintaining direct trade relationships with Rwandan coffee producers.”
“Throughout the festival we will hold walk-cuppings and visitors to the booth will be overloaded with everything they want to know about these coffees,” He said.
More than 94 global coffee companies including Rwanda’s –Rwanda Coffee have graced the Amsterdam Coffee festival.
The festival follows the 2014 inaugural edition; it features over 100 artisan roasters, equipment makers, gourmet food stalls and more.