Twenty-five Rwandan coffees have been selected for promotion to international specialty buyers after emerging as the top entries in the third Best of Rwanda National Specialty Coffee Competition.
The winners were announced and awarded in Kigali on Thursday, Aug. 27, by the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), which organised the annual competition. The winning coffees will be offered at an online auction on Oct. 21.
The competition attracted 320 coffee samples submitted by cooperatives and processing companies from across the country, up from 316 last year.
Coffee from the Southern Province took the top positions in both main categories. K-Organics of Huye District won the Anaerobic Natural category with a score of 90.74 points, while Great Coffee Farmers Ltd’s Cyeza Coffee Washing Station in Muhanga District won the Fully Washed category with 89.74 points. K-Organics also won the Anaerobic Natural category in 2025.
The competition is aimed at identifying high-quality coffees, giving producers greater exposure to specialty buyers and helping Rwanda earn more from its coffee exports.
K-Organics owner Evariste Karangwa said quality depends on careful handling from the farm through processing, including harvesting only fully ripe cherries and ensuring proper processing and drying.
At Cyeza, farmers work with the washing station to improve production practices, including timely delivery of ripe cherries, while the station focuses on careful washing and processing.
NAEB said 147 of the 320 samples passed the initial assessment by a national panel of professional coffee cuppers. Fifty then advanced to evaluation by an international jury, which selected the final 25 winners.
The premium potential has grown with previous editions. The 2024 winning coffee sold for $71.80 per kilogram, while K-Organics’ winning coffee fetched $88 per kilogram at the 2025 auction.
Orest Baragahorana, chairman of the Coffee Exporters and Processors Association of Rwanda, said the competition was helping raise the profile of Rwandan coffee internationally and connect producers with more buyers.
Agriculture and Animal Resources Minister Telesphore Ndabamenye said coffee remained important to Rwanda’s economy and farmers’ livelihoods and urged stakeholders across the value chain to continue improving quality.
NAEB Director General Claude Bizimana said the competition seeks to expand markets, raise coffee prices and increase export earnings.
