Welcome to HILLS COFFEELAB

Vision

Develop professional skills to everyone involved in coffee supply chain by providing work- based training through offering coffee quality education in Coffee farming& coffee pre-harvest &harvesting& coffee post-harvest handling& processing& storage& marketing& transport& roasting &cupping mostly Quality evaluation best procedures at every stage of the supply chain the best way to improve the Quality of coffee.

- Purpose

To pave the way towards Economic growth, self-sufficient, sustainable environment and strong coffee communities

Mission

Supporting Farmers, processors and producers to be competitive to the international market and to have a common language with buyers, roasters, baristas& final consumers by relating them to the international coffee quality standards& protocols and best practices

- Impact

Women and youth are empowered to join Hills coffee lab’s program to be the first to benefit the scholarship programs available

About us

Our Founder Engineer Grace MUKAYISENGA started her carrier when she was a FOOD SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY student intern in NAEB coffee& tea labs, from that time cupping became her passion, she later joined Cup of Excellence national jury since 2012 and got certified by the CQI (Q grader certificate) in 2013. Being among only 4 people who got Q certified out of 24 national cuppers has been the source of her motivation.

She then joined a Coffee Exporting company as a Quality control manager after graduating in Food science in 2014, where she was in Charge of all Coffee Quality maters, training the coffee washing station managers, making blends for buyers, roasting, cupping and samples preparations etc…

She became an Authorized SCA Trainer in 2019 and started the consultancies as a freelance trainer, she trained a big number of Farmers, Wet mill managers, Cuppers, Roasters and Baristas, and she still does

Grace is the first Rwandan to train and offer internationally recognized certificates in the field of Green coffee and Sensory skills.

Grace’s happiness is too see a young generation and women getting involved in the coffee value chain which secure the future of the coffee industry, she is always empowered to empower women and youth through the services the company offers

Our Services

Coffee Education

Consultancy services

Coffee tour guiding

Roasting and cupping (Coffee tasting) Experience

Marketing and promotion of Coffee Exporters

Lab renting

Sensory Judge

Our Courses

Introduction to Coffee

The Introduction to Coffee course is ideal for anyone who is new to specialty coffee. It charts coffee’s journey from its origins in Ethiopia to the major commodity that it is today. This course gives a general overview of the specialty coffee supply chain and explores topics such as history and cultivation, variables that affect coffee quality, basics of sensory analysis, fundamentals of roasting, factors of coffee freshness, and principles of brewing. In addition, learners will discuss the importance of water quality, cleanliness and maintenance. This interactive course also includes a cupping, an industry-specific process for evaluating coffee through a sensory experience. There is an online written exam administered upon the completion of the course

Green coffee

To prepare the student for more complex job functions found in the green coffee profession. Specifically:
• Botany and agronomy are developed further
• Processing is explored in more detail and quality as a result of processing is introduced as a concept
• Defects as well as positive grading variables are introduced to the student
• Core elements of green coffee contracts are introduced
• Grading and quality differentiation with regard to contracts is introduced
• Seasonality and quality storage variables are introduced as concepts
• Market terminology is developed further
• Decaffeination is developed further
• Mechanisms of certification are explored in further detail

Sensory skills

To enable the student to apply core concepts of sensory science to analyze aroma, taste, and body differences in coffee. Students will be introduced to various testing methods including triangle and in/out and they will progress in their calibration of the SCA cupping form. Students will examine basic requirements for developing a sensory program at their place of employment.

Roasting

The Roasting modules teaches about the roasting process, including roast cycle, roast levels, identifying defects, the physical changes that beans undergo during the roasting process, as well as workspace management and lean production.The Roasting modules teaches about the roasting process, including roast cycle, roast levels, identifying defects, the physical changes that beans undergo during the roasting process, as well as workspace management and lean production.

Sensory Evaluation in Quality Control

This 2-day, live class continues the development of coffee-centric quality evaluation skills by introducing the main sensory tools and testing methods used by large food & beverage companies around the world to standardize and unify their production Flavor and quality context is a trained, practiced, and continually evaluated skill. This class works to build this context using sensory reference standards and sensory evaluation techniques. Participants will develop skills to define what quality means in their company and recognize acceptable and unacceptable flavors Who is it for? Coffee people working in procurement, green coffee buying and quality assurance, product development and inventory management. Anyone who need to understand how to apply professional quality control testing to coffee

Learning CQI Flavor Standards

This is a 1-day, live class that is designed to introduce the CQI Flavor standards. Providing a basic understanding of how the senses of taste and smell function The attendee will learn how to prepare and recognize CQI Flavor Standards Who is it for? Any Q Arabica or Q Robusta Grader wanting to practice for their annual Flavor Calibration. Any person wanting to learn or experience CQI Flavor Standards.

Understanding Taste & Flavor

This 1-day, live class enables the attendee to develop a basic understanding the human gustatory system and its role in the coffee evaluation process. This interactive class will introduce the attendee to the basic functionality and components of the human gustatory system. This knowledge of the functioning of the human gustatory system will then be applied to both a calibration set of aqueous solutions and to coffee samples They will understand how subtle changes in taste modality perceptions can have a significant impact on the final assessment of a coffee's quality. Who is it for? Novice coffee people who want to understand how their senses work and build skills to help them excel in quality evaluation

Introduction to CQI Cupping

This 2-day, live class teaches all new coffee people how to set up a cupping and evaluate coffee consistently with CQI’s best practices and protocols for Q graders. Attendees will learn the fundamental mechanics of olfaction (Fragrance & Aroma), gustation (Flavor & Aftertaste), taction (Body & Mouthfeel) and aroma memory recall. They will apply these fundamental mechanics while learning how to compare and describe coffee attributes. Who is it for: New coffee people, novice cuppers, or even coffee enthusiasts looking to better understand coffee flavor and how quality is professionally evaluated.

Welcome To HILLS COFFEE LAB