The Kinini washing station comprises of 633 smallholder farms at altitudes of 1950 – 2200 metres above sea level.
Coffee is picked by the farmers and brought to the Kinini washing station where it is kept separate from the other lots brought in that day and logged in the office in order to meet the strict quality control.
From there, it is taken to raised shaded beds for extra cleaning by hand before being taken to the initial floating tank and de-pulped using a four disc McKinnon pulper.
The cherries are then placed into a cleaning tank for a first wash before the water is changed and a dry fermentation for 24 hours occurs. The tanks are then filled and coffee fermented from between 5 to 20 hours, depending on the decision of the quality manager monitoring the fermentation.
One further washing and the coffee is sent to the soaking tanks for a further 24 hours before being transported downstream to the raised beds for controlled drying and a further picking to select the best beans. The coffee is then sun dried for an average of 15 days, depending on the intensity of the sun.
All water used at Kinini undergoes strict cleaning to a level where it is fit for consumption, before being returned to the stream that flows down the hill just behind the washing station.
Part of the money from any Kinini coffee goes towards an NGO they also run, A New Beginning Rwanda, which involves a growing school and what started as a health post and is now becoming a hospital.