Five Senses Coffee Blog

Back in Kigali

We are back in Kigali and getting ready for the awards ceremony with the farmers this afternoon. Now that the ‘technical’ part of the competition is over, I have to say that I am incredibly impressed at how well organised the whole event has been. It’s very easy to recognise that an incredible amount of work has gone on behind the scenes for months to make everything happen. I feel quite spoiled as a judge, with our only job being to taste great coffees, stay focused and judge honestly and accurately, all while attending events that have been planned for us. Susie Spindler, Paul Songer, OCIR Cafe, Techno Serve, Spread, the national and international jurors as well as all the volunteers have all come together so beautifully and done a phenomenal job, I cannot thank them enough for the experience.

Yesterday afternoon we visited the genocide museum, a powerful memorial on so many levels. Our guided tour gave us a much clearer picture of life in Rwanda before, during and after the genocide. Touching, disturbing and significant as Rwandans try to look forward, learn from the past and educate their children.

We finished the evening at an elaborate banquet with all the organisers at the Hotel des Mille Collines (Hotel of a Thousand Hills) which was made famous in the movie Hotel Rwanda, which depicted some of the events that took place in 1994.

Kigali