Clay Pigeon Trading™ is a consciously curated™ specialty coffee roastery with a pro-Africa agenda.

​

We are the first (and currently the only) coffee roastery in Africa to offer 100% traceable and transparent coffee, endorsed by the Transparent Coffee Association. Globally, we are No. 55 in the world to sign The Pledge. We procure and roast only Specialty Q/Grade coffee from the African continent. We have a pro-Africa agenda, trading with African coffee farmers exclusively and directly in an effort to promote ethical and sustainable farming practices, and supporting farmers who profit first. 

Why are traceability and transparency important?

​

While traceability gives information about the source and/or origin of green coffee, transparency discloses the profits generated along the value chain. This is crucial from both a sustainability and humanitarian perspective. For the most part, coffee producers are living hand to mouth, and do not have the resources to invest in sustainable and profitable farming practices. Transparent value chains challenge current pricing mechanisms and allow consumers to make informed and conscious purchasing decisions. This, in turn, directly impacts producers, helping them invest in more sustainable and profitable farming practices. It all starts with knowing what farmers get paid in hand for the coffee they produce. If this information is not openly disclosed, the coffee you purchase is NOT TRANSPARENT.

​

We are delighted to see that more and more coffee roasters around the globe have woken up to smell the coffee and now willing to openly disclose their FOB price. This is the Free On Board price. This is the price that the trader pays for the green processed coffee that is ready for export. But this is not to be confused with transparency. While disclosing the FOB price is a great start, it does not disclose what farmers receive out of the FOB price. This is important. Becoming a transparent coffee roastery is not easy. There is a lot of red tape and misinformation. And for this reason, many roasters who want to follow this route often get paralyzed by the process. But as we've shown, it is achievable. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and more tears than we had anticipated. But it is doable. And if our small team of two can do this, there's no excuse for bigger roasteries who have the capital, human resources, and customer reach to follow suit. Our vision is that this becomes a common practice for all roasteries big and small.

​

​

WHAT IS SPECIALTY COFFEE?

 

Without getting too technical, Specialty Coffee is a high-quality Q-Graded coffee, jointly vetted by qualified Q-Graders and the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). Coffees that score 85+/100 are classified as Specialty Coffee. Coffees scoring 80 to 84 are classified as Premium, while coffees that score 79 and below are unclassified. So how does the grading work? There are a couple of variables, but for the most-part coffee quality is judged by the number of imperfections that exist, these include (but are not limited to) bean size, insect contamination, and the like. Then there's cupping - aka scoring the coffee's taste profile. 

 

It takes a special kind of farmer to harvest Specialty Coffee. It takes time. Experience. Trust. And an accumulation of knowledge and wisdom passed through generations of farmers. This liquid gold is a product of specific micro-climates, cultured soils, specialized production processes, and careful processing. Like all things rare and precious, this coffee is worth more than its weight in gold - literally. At Clay Pigeon Trading™ we pride ourselves on procuring only Speciality Coffees, exclusive to the African continent. What's more, our Cape Classic Single Origin Rwanda is 100% traceable from farmer to cup - a rarity in today's mass consumer market. In fact, we are the only coffee company in SA to openly disclose our trading prices, and one of 55 companies globally that offers a fully transparent supply chain. Francine and Immaculate farm our coffee. They own their own farm lot in Rwanda, Nyamulinda 808 to be exact. They own and process over 20,000 coffee trees, and have recently bought their own washing station. 

P.S. Our packaging is also plastic-free, ♻ and compostable. We've done the hard work so that you, our customers, are not left with the burden of recycling plastic. It's our responsibility as business owners to ensure that our business practices and supply chain is sustainable. 

 

​

OUR COFFEE: CAPE CLASSIC SINGLE ORIGIN RWANDA

 

Altitude: 1700 MASL

Preparation: Fully Washed, Dry Fermented  

Variety: Red Bourbon

Location: Nyamulinda Washing Station, Nyamagabe, Rwanda

Owner: Francine & Immaculate

Cup Score: 85,75

Cup Profile: Black Cherry, Apricots, Nutmeg with Almond Aroma, and Smooth Chocolate Body 

Roast Profile: Light to Medium

​​

​

Price We Pay

​

Immaculate and Francine are paid $2,37 per/kg in hand for their coffee. This relates to 39% of the FOB price, which is $6,10 per/kg.

 

​

Weather 
 

The climate in Nyamagabe is warm and temperate. In winter, there is much less rainfall than in summer. This location is classified as CWB by Köppen and Geiger. The average annual temperature in Nyamagabe is 17.6 °C. Precipitation averages 1279 mm. There is a difference of 195 mm of precipitation between the driest and wettest months. During the year, the average temperatures vary by 1.2 °C. 

 

​

Dry Fermentation

 

Coffee is pulped then placed into large soaking tanks. No water is added so the coffee is naturally exposed to the effects of oxygen and weather conditions. Common dry fermentation periods are 15 hours per harvest. The length of time will vary depending on weather and temperature. Once fermented, the beans are washed, and floating beans further separated before being naturally dried.

 

​

The Famers
 

Nyamulinda was built and established by Immaculate and Francine, friends who are both from the Nyamagabe area, in southern Rwanda. After realizing the potential for coffee in their home village, they decided to grow coffees themselves and planted over 20,000 coffee trees on their combined farmland. At the time of harvesting, they decided to process the coffee on their own in order to maintain the quality achieved on their farms. Nyamulinda was born from an unfailing dedication to quality production. The washing station was soon built in 2016, and they then began processing their coffee themselves, and also that of their neighboring farmers. With high quality at the core of their ethos, the dynamic duo is looking to expand their capacity, and grow their volume from the 220 tons of cherries processed this year.