"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

Rwanda was awesome! What can I say, it was my first trip to East Africa, my first opportunity to participate in the Cup of Excellence, and I was surrounded by people who didn’t get bored of talking coffee for a week straight. When you get this kind of a group together you quickly realise that the whole six degrees of separation is more like two in the world of coffee. Everyone knows everyone through someone or somewhere; it’s nice, and always makes me feels kind of special to be a part of it. The interesting bit was that we were all telling variations of the same story. We all love coffee, want to work with it, want to know more and want to be able to translate and share this experience with our customers. We branch off into roasting, cafe ownership, wholesale roasters, importers, green bean sellers, etc … until we find our solid footing and then we become experts. We don’t stop learning and we give it our complete focus. These are the type of people I spent the week with in Rwanda, all integral pieces of the global specialty industry – very exciting!

The experience of travelling to Rwanda was enlightening. I’m a desperate traveller at heart … the chance to step outside of my comfort zone and feel the world is one that I am always willing to take. I love the feeling of being slightly nervous of the unknown and pleasantly surprised at how underneath it all, the human spirit bonds us all. My first impressions of Rwanda and the Rwandis were relaxed and welcoming and that resonated throughout the entire trip. I blogged daily about the coffee side of things and if you are interested to know more you can find it here. The week of cupping “work” was rewarding, exciting and excellent training. I still feel extremely grateful for those involved in making it happen, namely Susie Spindler with ACE (Alliance for Coffee Excellence) and Paul Songer (Head Judge and Cupping trainer), it’s an opportunity that I would jump up and down to be a part of again.

Having a turn to taste the best of the best has imprinted a special place in my heart for the unique flavour profile of Rwandan coffees: heavy, balanced, floral, sweet citrus with a wide range of complexities. What fun to get the chance to cup the winning lots at CNR in Perth last week with the local coffee people – another very important group in the industry: the baristas, cafe owners, customers and roasters. It’s exciting to see coffees that I have followed all the way from Rwanda being tasted and enjoyed by friends back home. I shook hands and discussed quality with the farmers, danced with the jurors, lived for a week in Rwanda, cupped tirelessly, was a part of the selection, brought these coffees to Perth, had our lovely roasters roast them, tasted them again, coordinated with buyers, purchased part of Lot #5 and will eventually get this coffee in the hands of our customers who will then serve it to the Australia public. This is only a piece of the puzzle, but following coffee like this and connecting with the people that touch it has given me to an entirely new level of appreciation.

Lately I have been exchanging emails with Laetitia, a young Rwandan coffee professional working with quality control at the Rwashoscco Musasa co-op. I spent time with her in Rwanda and Tanzania and she is keen to learn more, compete in barista competitions, and also, like me, see the world. We are currently filling out the paperwork and signing on the dotted line to try and help her get a visitor’s visa and sponsor her visit to Australia. Watch this space for details.

Rwanda has not seen the last of me!