Mahembe Estate
Focus on Quality
Mahembe is a family-owned company, founded by Justin Musabyimana in 2010.
It comprises of three farms:
Gatare Farm : This is the oldest farm set up by Justin on 8 hectares of land and is located on altitude of 1700-1900 meter producing coffee which is mostly known of having citrus taste and cleanness.
Gituntu Farm : It is the largest farm with 14 Hectares located on altitude of 1800-2000 meters. This Farm has a unique characteristics. Justin’s family is able to control the growing conditions yielding quality cherries which are all processed at the Nyagatare Washing Station, thereby enabling Mahembe to produce single origin coffee, traceable to this Farm.
Murundo Farm : The second largest farm with 13 hectares and new one; it is located on the altitude of 2000-2100 meters near the Nyungwe forest belt.
Mahembe has two washing stations:
Nyagatare Washing Station : It processes cherries from the in Mahembe Sector, Nyamasheke District in the western Province of Rwanda. It processes coffee supplied by the Abatarushwa Cooperative grouping over 675 smallholder coffee farmers.
Nyarubuye Washing Station processes coffee grown in Twumba Sector, Karongi District in the western Province of Rwanda, located near Nyungwe forest. Currently over 256 smallholder coffee farmers supply cherries to Nyarubuye.
Focus on quality
Mahembe trains its farmers to harvest only ripen coffee cherries from their farm trees. The washing stations practice very strict routines for cherry reception and sorting. When the farmers deliver cherries, they themselves must sort the cherries. The washing station staff will do a further sorting . The cherries are placed in a tank prior to pulping where floaters are removed and processed separately as lower grade coffee.