In 2018, Muraho Trading Co. launched an ambitious project at Shyira Washing Station in Rwanda’s Nyabihu District: the introduction of new coffee varieties beyond the country’s well-known Red Bourbon. With Shyira’s high altitude (2,000–2,400 MASL), cool climate, and abundant rainfall, the station was identified as an ideal location to test how different global varieties could express themselves in Rwanda’s terroir. The first trees, planted from seed in 2018, have now produced their inaugural harvests—showcasing high yields, quicker maturation compared to Bourbon, and exciting flavour potential. By overseeing every stage of cultivation and processing, from nursery to drying beds, Muraho has created a controlled environment to push Rwanda’s coffee diversity forward.

Shyira itself is remarkable not only for its location—the highest-grown coffee we know of in Rwanda—but also for the unique culture Muraho has built around it. Every stage of processing is carefully managed: hand-sorting, flotation, fermentation in concrete tanks, and meticulous drying over 30 days. Perhaps most distinctive is the washing station’s tradition of song and dance, where workers stomp coffee during fermentation to both agitate the beans and celebrate their work in unison. This blend of innovation, cultural pride, and extraordinary terroir makes Shyira and Muraho stand out in Rwanda’s coffee landscape, with these new varieties opening a fresh chapter for the region’s flavour potential.