Today the world celebrated the International Coffee Day. The celebration aims to promote coffee, a popular beverage. We take this day as a special one and we dedicate it to all our coffee lovers. To our passionate farmers, traders, consumers and sector partners at large: we honor your efforts in making our journey (since 1900s) a success. Our cup is now the best experience ever!

This cash crop was introduced in Rwanda in 1904 by Germany missionaries. In 1935 coffee production greatly increased, becoming the main cash crop for many farmers, but it was mostly low-grade coffee and its consumption was limited to local missionaries. The following decades, coffee became the sole crop to be the source of income for the country until in 1960s when tea was introduced.

The crop for export remained since then the source of livelihoods for thousands of farmers, who grew it to become what it is today. Currently, we have about 400,000 households who depend on it.During the 1970s and 1980s, as world coffee prices rose, coffee exports provided between 60 and 80 percent of Rwanda’s export revenue. All coffee production from Rwanda was at this time being exported ordinarily through one company – Rwandex. The number of exporters has risen to 72, majority Rwandans. Our coffee is increasingly recognized as a high-quality product, renowned worldwide. 64% of it is exported fully washed – thanks to 309 coffee washing stations we have. In 1994, there was solely one.

Happy International Coffee Day