Many of you have been waiting for this moment

After announcing in our newsletter and blog that Gitesi Coffee's coffees were sold out in November, we’re thrilled to share some exciting news: the coffee from the second harvest we’ve sourced from Aimé and the Gitesi Coffee Washing Station has finally arrived on our warehouse shelves.

A Look Back

Last February, we launched our online shop featuring the coffees produced by Aimé and his team at the Gitesi Coffee Washing Station in Rwanda.

At that time, Warawul was new to the coffee world, driven by the idea of creating something different. The concept of Warawul—connecting producers with coffee drinkers and building a platform to share the stories behind the coffee—was born from a meeting I had with Aimé in Kigali two years ago.

We met at Question Coffee in Kigali and discussed what a coffee company in Europe might look like if it prioritized the needs of producers.

These priorities included:

• Planning reliability,
• Stable, producer-set prices,
• Sharing market risks, and
• Visibility for producers’ own brands.

We both recognized that achieving this would only be possible through a close, respectful, trusting, and direct relationship.

The New Harvest – Directly Purchased and Long Planned

However, true direct trade in coffee requires significant capital or access to financing, as well as a customer base. Direct imports often only make financial sense for container-sized shipments—several tons of green coffee.

We were fortunate to partner with Algrano, which enables small and young companies like ours to purchase coffee through direct relationships.

Algrano allows small roasteries to include their direct purchases in shared containers that are shipped once a year—even if the producers aren’t marketing their coffee through the Algrano platform. Algrano charges a fee for this service, but it is reasonable.

Additionally, Algrano provides financing for these coffees, meaning producers are paid for the export while roasters only have to repay the loaned money for the coffee upon receipt.

Aimé introduced us to Algrano, and by May—just three months after roasting our first coffee—we were already planning the delivery of the 2024 harvest with him.

We signed purchase agreements with Aimé at prices set by Gitesi Coffee itself, and then organized logistics with Algrano. By August, the green coffee began its long journey from Rwanda to Germany through the congested port of Mombasa.

Familiar Favorites and a New Coffee

And now, it’s here. We are extremely proud that in just our second year, we’ve been able to implement our core principles of direct collaboration so successfully.

The coffees that have arrived taste even better than the 2023 harvest. We’ve ordered the wildly popular Red Bourbon Peaberry from Aimé. We’re also bringing back Gitesi Espresso, Aime’s washed Red Bourbon that we roast medium for espresso.

New to the lineup is the Gitesi Natural coffee produced by Aimé and his team. We tested it extensively upon arrival and have fallen in love . It combines a pleasant fruity sweetness with a balanced, gentle acidity, all while maintaining clarity and lightness. Try it for yourself! We roast it lightly to let you experience its full range of flavors.

Availability

The new coffees are now available in our online shop and in-store. One exception is the Peaberry.

We underestimated the demand for the first roast, and everything except two 350g packs sold out within the first two days. We also already have pre-orders for the next roast.

Due to operational reasons, the Peaberry will not be roasted again until the end of the month. If you’d like to pre-order, send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll throw in a 5% discount.