About this coffee

Gisheke coffee washing station (CWS) is the hidden gem of Rwanda. When Gisheke was purchased in September 2017, it was very run down and in a bad state. Between February and April 2018, it went through a major makeover in order to become what it is today - a truly stunning and idyllic station for processing top specialty coffees.

What makes Gisheke so special is that it is literally located in between two steep hills that point directly towards Lake Kivu, the beautiful Idjwi Island and also our neighbours to the west, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Idjwi Island is the second largest inland island in Africa. This setting makes the wind flow through the station the most ideal for processing and drying top quality natural processed coffees.

The only way to get to Gisheke is to hop on a local boat and glide through Lake Kivu. That’s right boat! The boat ride to the CWS is just simply mesmerising and unbelievably relaxing. Idjwi Island and DRC aside you pass through Mushungwe Island and its two little sister islands. All the coffee’s that are produced in these Islands are delivered by boat and processed in Gisheke. Around 40% of the coffees processed at Gisheke comes from Mushungwe Island.

Lastly it is also very common to see the famous Lake Kivu cows greeting you in your boat as they swim passed to get their next meal in the surrounding islands. You heard right, we said swimming cows!