Gasharu Coffee was created in 2014 by Valentin Kimenyi and his parents. His father Celestin had bought his first plot of land and planted 380 coffee trees at only 17 years old. He got married to Valentin's mother Marie a few years later, who also grew up in the communities the family business now operates in. Marie is a teacher and has taught many of the people in the area and she was also in charge of accounting. After having run a successful coffee business for nearly two decades, the family was forced to flee Rwanda and abandon the business because of the genocide.

They had to start from scratch when they returned four years later, yet they built their first washing station soon after and ran their new business for a couple of years. Eventually, though, the family had to sell everything and go out of business due to open loans. The failure of the project hit Celestin hard. Valentin was a young agronomy student at the time and, looking back, says: «I watched my parents count kilos of cherries all my life. In my head, money always had an association with the weight of coffee.» He had seen his parents run a business and help people with school fees and healthcare that way, which motivated him to pursue a career in agriculture and business himself. «I also didn't like to see my parents not working. They were not happy.»

Gasharu Coffee is committed to supporting the local community. As Valentin mentions, the other coffee companies in the area are not owned by people from the community. And he adds: «Coffee for us goes beyond just beans. It is a reason for people to spend time together. It allows families to go out for a meal after being paid and to buy valued dishes.» In many occasions, other companies have approached farmers who work with Gasharu and tried to convince them to sell their coffee to them instead. But most of them have always refused even when the other companies made a good offer because there is a shared understanding that as Gasharu grows, the community grows. The family also has a small bar that serves as a sort of meeting point in the community, where people hang out, watch football and hold their family gatherings.

Impano was processed at Gasharu Central Washing Station, one of the two washing stations the family business now runs. Gasharu CWS is located on the shores of Lake Kivu and only a stone’s throw from Nyungwe Forest National Park, famous for its diverse plant and wildlife population. The region‘s climate, elevation and its soil are ideal for the production of high-quality coffee. From February to July, Gasharu employs nearly 400 people, most of which women.

After the harvest, the coffee cherries are floated in order to remove defects, before the good cherries are put into tanks for 100 hours of anaerobic fermentation. This contributes to the funky, wine-like characteristics of the coffee. When the fermentation is finished, the coffee is dried on raised beds for 25 to 30 days.

The Red Bourbon variety, often found in this area of Rwanda, seems to be a great combination with the local terrain, allowing for sweet, fruity, straight-forward aromatics. Combined with the aforementioned anaerobic fermentation, this results in an explosive mix of refreshing and fermented flavors alike.

This spectacular coffee is very sweet, with a rich mouthfeel, and full of dark berry and tropical fruit notes. Thanks to a light and rather short roast, its intense sweetness and its heavier flavors are beautifully balanced out by a wonderful, fruity juiciness.