Bourbon Coffee, Rwanda’s leading mainstream coffee shop has expanded operations to Washington D.C, the capital of the United State of America (USA). The coffee shops’ Operations Manager, Emmanuel Murekezi said that the expansion to USA aimed at serving the ever growing demand of Rwanda’s coffee. “This is aimed at promoting Rwandan coffee in the US. This is our biggest coffee market,” he explained. Bourbon Coffee shop is located at 2101 L St. in Dupont Circle. It was opened about four months ago. This means that it is taking its share of competition in the Washington area, where Starbucks alone has about 250 locations within 10 miles of downtown D.C. The region boasts of other leading coffee shop chains such as Caribou Coffee and small local chains such as Mayorga Coffee, Murky Coffee and Mocha Hut. The Washington based Bourbon Coffee offers the same services just like the three locally based shops. It also includes a portion for selling Rwanda crafts. Murekezi said that the coffee shop management is planning to open up more shops within the US. “Our next location will be Boston and New York. We are currently working on the paperwork with local authorities,” he revealed. Outside the US, the company also targets the UK and Canadian markets. Bourbon Coffee was opened in Rwanda in 2006. The number has since then increased to three shops in different parts of Kigali. The most recent shop is located at the Kigali International Airport. The company aimed at reimbursing profits back into the hands of Rwandan coffee bean farmers. It is estimated that the store sees 600 to 800 Rwandan farmers a day and rings up about $48,000 (Rwf27.3 million) in revenue a month. Rwanda is well reknowned as the world’s finest coffee producer. Its coffee beans are said to have a rich colour and deliciously refreshing aroma. The Government targets $60 million (Rwf34.1 billion) from coffee this year, up from $46 million (Rwf26.7 billion) last year. Ends
