Every year we try to shed a light on a particular coffee that is making waves in the industry, but maybe hasn't been given the spotlight it deserves yet. The feature is reserved for coffees and producers of innovation, in the spirit of asking - What does the future of speciality coffee look like?

This Yellow Bourbon lot from Muraho Trading Co and the smallholder farmers of Rugali embody this spirit totally. Two brothers, Gaudam and Karthick Anbalagan founded Muraho with a mission to show the world how great Rwandan coffee could be, but also how incredible and resilient its people are in the wake of one of the worst atrocities to face humanity - the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi population.

In Rwanda, producers and exporters are aided by the National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB), a government organisation established to promote and grow Rwandas coffee production, a vital part of the countries economy. Muraho were the first exporter granted a license to produce and export honey and natural processed lots in Rwanda, a monumental step in elevating the potential quality and prices received for Rwandan coffees. But they didn’t stop there.

Yellow Bourbon seeds are one of four varieties given to the farmers local to Rugali who show the most potential and are supported both financially and with agronomists to help maximise the potential, with the goal of diversifying Rwandan coffee exports and building resilience against the incoming impacts of climate change. Gaudam, Karthick and all involved are true innovators and they want above all for people to appreciate the hard work and dedication in the face of adversity.

We were lucky enough to speak to Karthick from Muraho, and ask him a few questions about this lot. He was able to shed light on the complications of producing this coffee, as well as touch on future projections and what this means for Rwandan coffee growing.To be honest, since we started we wanted to change the face of Rwanda coffee and more so in regards to high specialty coffees. So we always looked for ways to improve, do things differently, be innovative and be open to experimenting. As you know, we were the first company to legally process and export honey and natural coffees. So, when the opportunity was there to plant different varieties, we took it. Yellow Bourbon was one of four varieties that we tested.