SPREAD project sniffing out new method of helping Rwandan coffee farmers
Appellation initiative will help bring premium coffees, prices
Contact(s): Dr. Tim Schilling, tschillingfrance@gmail.com
Dr. Linda Cleboski, 979-845-0706, LCLEBOSK@ag.tamu.edu
"For the past three years, groups have been working together and have been gathering data which can be used to establish specific appellations for Rwanda’s fine coffees,” said Dr. Tim Schilling, director for enterprise development, Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. “Now we’re beginning the process of defining and delimiting those zones which consistently produce unique and desirable taste attributes which will merit international market premiums.”
An appellation is a type of geographic and quality branding most typically associated with the European wine industry. In that industry, it indicates the grapes used are of a specific kind and from a specific district, producing wines with consistent and desired qualities and characteristics.
Schilling said participants in the Rwandan coffee appellation initiative include the Borlaug Institute, U.S. Agency for International Development, Rwanda’s coffee development authority, known as OCIR-Café, the Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Regional Outreach Center of the National University of Rwanda and the U.S. coffee industry.
Appellation activities will be implemented through the Sustaining Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development project, known as SPREAD, a USAID-funded effort led by the Borlaug Institute, part of the Texas A&M System.
Establishing these appellations will further enhance the reputation of Rwandan coffees, as well as increase coffee farmer incomes and satisfy coffee connoisseur demand, Schilling said.
“For several years, through the SPREAD project and previous projects, we have been helping Rwandan coffee farmers improve their coffee quality,” said Dr. Linda Cleboski, African programs administrator for the Borlaug Institute. “This has been done in a number of ways, including helping them organize cooperatives, introducing them to better agricultural practices, reducing transportation time to coffee stations and helping them professionalize their coffee stations.”
Currently, Rwanda has more than 150 coffee washing stations, and all have either directly or indirectly benefited from SPREAD and associated project activities, Cleboski said.
“Rwandan coffees appeal to a consumer who enjoys a more complex and robust coffee with a full and smooth mouth feel and distinctive flavor,” said Paul Songer, an international coffee judge and owner of Songer and Associates, a sensory testing service. “Some areas of Rwanda produce coffees with orange and floral aromas, while others produce coffees with red apple, cherry and toasted almond flavors.”
In addition to serving as head judge for dozens of international coffee competitions, including the prestigious Cup of Excellence, Songer also has trained some 40 Rwandans in the art of “cupping” – a tasting technique used to evaluate the aroma and flavor profile of different coffees. He is one of several U.S. coffee industry experts involved in training Rwandans in both cupping and “descriptive” cupping, which includes a verbal description of more subtle and unique coffee characteristics.
In 2007, 24 diverse and exceptional coffees were selected to represent Rwanda’s top coffee production zones during its first national Golden Cup competition, sponsored by the SPREAD program and Rwandan coffee industry.
“After extensive sensory evaluations conducted by an international panel of leading specialty coffee experts, eight coffees were identified as exemplary representatives of their respective production zones,” Schilling said.
More extensive sensory analysis identified key flavor attributes which were correlated with geographic variables, including temperature, altitude, moisture, plant variety and other factors, he said.
“This further analysis showed certain combinations of geographic variables can produce certain specific taste attributes," Schilling noted. “For example, a higher pH soil combined with high relative humidity at a higher-than-normal altitude will produce distinctive red apple and cherry flavors in these production zones.”
Last year, Rwanda hosted the first Cup of Excellence international coffee competition held on the continent credited with bringing coffee to the world. The competition was used as an opportunity to sample 54 coffees representing all of Rwanda’s production zones.
“This provided us a larger sample size with which to do more robust statistical analyses,” Schilling said.
In March, Intelligentsia Coffee hosted the descriptive sensory evaluation for the coffees from the Cup of Excellence. Panel experts also took a set of samples back to their respective laboratories to develop independent sets of descriptive profiles.
“Wine connoisseurs are familiar with the uniqueness and desirability of appellation areas such as Champagne and Bordeaux,” said Schilling. “These areas produce products which discerning consumers know will have very specific attributes and qualities they enjoy and can consistently depend on from those regions. We’re hoping to bring that same sort of strong affinity and consumer desirability to Rwandan specialty coffees.”
In July, personnel involved in the SPREAD project met with other experts at a two-day workshop held at Texas A&M University in College Station to review past work applicable to the appellation initiative and discuss the direction of future research and activities.
Attendees included SPREAD project participants, Texas A&M professors and doctoral students, and global information systems experts, including a representative of the University of Rwanda’s regional outreach center.
Ric Rhinehart, executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, who attended the workshop, expressed his enthusiasm and support for the appellation research, stating that to date the multi-billion dollar U.S. specialty coffee industry has lacked a strong science-driven quality research component. He said developing that component had the ability to “increase producer incomes and U.S. roasting company profits, while enhancing the coffee experience for the American consumer.”
During workshop discussions, Dr. Anthony Filippi of Texas A&M’s department of geography noted how global positioning technology could be used to define specific appellation areas.
Researchers from the university's horticultural sciences department explained how appellations are designated, parallels with wine appellations and additional methods for measuring coffee quality.
“We’re now in the process of fleshing out the right people with the right expertise and pinpointing the appropriate resources, technology and science needed to further interpret our existing data and develop new data and methodology for determining appellations,” Schilling said.
Schilling added that he hopes efforts will lead to the identification of at least two to three specific Rwandan specialty coffee appellation areas over the next few years.
“This will be an ongoing process, but it will be well worth the time and effort,” he said. “Since 2001, Rwanda has made quantum leaps in improving its coffee quality and establishing a reputation as a top specialty coffee producer.
“The initiative will help further that reputation and help increase farmer income by identifying the conditions under which Rwandan coffee farmers can produce the ‘creme de la creme’ of their respective production areas.”
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