Hello again! I did say two part, so lets have a part 2!
I love this coffee. This coffee is an experience, so I don't drink it often. It is a deeper meditation for me, and although we, the store I work in, isn't currently featuring it, I was grateful I had some on hand at home. The Abakundakawa collective is a processing station in Rwanda. What that means is that farms from the area can bring their crop to a single processing station instead of having to invest and have a processing station on site. This is important in countries in central Africa, especially, because most coffee is grown on small family owned farms, and having a washing station would not only add the expense of setting up and maintaining the washing station, but also cut down on space to grow coffee. This washing station, in particular, is a tremendously important part of Rwandan coffee. It is run by woman. After the civil war, and the intense loss of life, the country of Rwanda faced many unique challenges in rebuilding. The main one I'll focus on here, is the struggle to rebuild financially for the individuals. While farming is mainly seen in the western world as being a male dominated profession, countries in the coffee belt utilize all ages and genders to grow, harvest, and sell, but the management and maintenance of farms and processing stations is still a very male dominated section of the industry. When the male population was decimated during the civil war, the woman needed to band together and rebuild their farms and livelihoods. They did so in an amazing way. The Abakundakawa collective is a way for woman in Rwanda to grow and process their coffee, and it has led to some amazing results. This coffee is not just amazing in its flavor profile, but to be a blended coffee, coming from multiple farms, and still having such flavor distinction, really speaks to me about what amazing work we, as woman, can do, both individually and collectively.
I tend to choose which coffee I brew at home by my mood. If I want something for an easy cup, I will always choose Ethiopian coffee. I have never had a cup of Ethiopian coffee I didn't love. The care and attention they put into the entire process of growing and processing shines through regardless of who handles the coffee in the middle. Today, however, I wanted something more introspective. I've had a rough couple of days, as mentioned in my previous post, struggling with my mental health. It is a daily struggle, and some days are easier than others to work through the tangle of my brain. I broke, for no reason, a few days ago. It wasn't triggered by any single event, and was one of the worst panic attacks I've had in a long time. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around why, when life seems to be going so right, I take such a sharp dive downward. I don't think there is a why. And that's ok. Sometimes you need to break, and rebuild those pieces into something greater. Every time it happens, I have two options. Let it consume me, or let it fulfill me. I've made both choices at different times in my life, and this time I was able to let it fulfill me. It gave me perspective on how important it is to take care of myself physically, and how important it is to be honest. Don't ignore it, don't push it away to be dealt with tomorrow or next week or when things settle down. That is how you take a small break and turn it into something much more difficult to see the other side of. I've been down that dark hole. I came out the other side, but not without significant damage to myself, mentally and physically, and it caused suffering in those around me. I didn't ask for help until it was almost too late, and that was a very hard lesson to learn. Truth be told, I'm still learning to ask for help. We view struggles as a burden to be carried alone, and that isn't something we can ever do. Like those woman in Rwanda, who have a burden much heavier than any I have or will ever have to carry, they choose to carry it together, and by sharing that burden, they were able to create something amazing. This coffee has traveled all around the globe, sharing their story, and allowing us all to take a moment to reflect and share the burden of those woman, and those around us. I choose to walk through this world in love. In love with coffee, in love with myself and my struggles, and in love with the life I have been gifted. I never want anyone to face their struggles alone, whether they are as capable of sharing their burden, or if they just need to be shown love in a small unrelated way, I strive to always do just that.
Go into this weekend, and the rest of your life surrounded by love. My love and the love you get from a cup of coffee. The love of the farmer who manages the land, the pickers who harvest, those processing, buying, roasting, and finally brewing that cup. Each cup you have is a cup of love. Take a moment to smell, slurp, locate, and describe, and be loved by that cup.
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