A delicate cup with flavors of apricot and orange upheld by a lingering sweetness that is reminiscent of honeysuckle and dried fruit.

Grown and meticulously processed by a group of 15 women in the Gakenke District, this Women’s Lot carries a powerful story of resilience, equity, and community empowerment. “Ikizere,” meaning confidence in Kinyarwanda, is more than a name—it represents a movement to amplify the voices of single mothers and widowed women through coffee. This coffee is a celebration of both people and place—grown with care and supported through year-round agronomic training, fair compensation, and meaningful reinvestment into the lives of its producers.

We selected this standout lot on the cupping table for its remarkable clarity, refined structure, and sweetness—a truly representation of Rwandan terroir. The processing starts with careful sorting followed by several rounds of floating to select the ripest, densest cherries. After a brief fermentation, the beans are depulped, washed, and graded by density. The drying protocol begins by moving coffee onto shaded beds for 12-72 hours. This is a unique step in Rwanda, called “skin drying” and aids in defect detection. Next, the coffee is transferred to semi-shaded raised beds, where it is carefully monitored until it reaches the ideal 11% moisture content.