The Cyesha Coffee Washing Station is located along the forested shores of Lake Kivu, in Rwanda’s Western Province. It is a young station — established in 2022 — but it has already become an important point on the local coffee map.

Cyesha is operated by brothers Karthick Anbalagan and Gaudam Anbalagan, founders of Muraho Coffee. Raised in Uganda and later educated and professionally active in New Zealand, the brothers returned to Rwanda with a clear ambition: to help reshape the country’s coffee reputation. Today, Muraho operates four washing stations in the Nyamasheke District, with Cyesha standing out as one of their newest and most forward-looking projects. As early as 2016, Muraho was among the first in Rwanda to legally export natural and honey-processed coffees — a bold and defining move at the time.

Around 470 smallholder farmers deliver their coffee cherries to Cyesha during the harvest season from March to May. Processing is carried out using modern Penagos Ecoline equipment, with dual water tanks and drying on raised beds. The influence of Lake Kivu is felt throughout the process: cool lake breezes, regular rainfall, and steady sunlight shape the daily rhythm of work and contribute to a balanced, soft, velvety cup — sweet, berry-driven, and unmistakably African in character.