Always a shining star, Cocatu has a Medjool date aroma, brown sugar sweetness in the cup, with accents of chamomile flower tea, cinnamon sauce, clove, and fig pudding. Good for espresso.
Processing: Wet Process
Varietal: Bourbon
Farm Description:
Cocatu is a cooperative in the area of Tumba town, in the mountainous Rulindo district, Northern Rwanda. Located at 1820 meters, the coop actually draws coffee from the surrounding hills of 2000+ meters. Cocatu is one of the surviving cooperatives from a time when many were formed but few truly prospered. The problem was not the quality of coffee or effort of the farmer-members. It was the absence of sound business advice to control expenses and raise the working capital to buy coffee cherry in the harvest. Cocatu has had one great advantage over the last 5 years though: They have had a consistent buyer paying a great price for the coffee. We can't offer much to help run the cooperative, we can't save them from the poor decisions of past leaders, but we can be there supporting them with a price that rewards the great coffee they produce. To me, that's sustainable agriculture in a broader sense of the term, and on my many visits to the cooperative processing station, I see many improvements indicating they are not only solvent but thriving. New drying beds, a new disc pulper and many happy workers all indicate their success. This coffee is part of our Farm Gate pricing program.
