Private Air New York Magazine
Issue link: https://privateair.uberflip.com/i/431324
www.privateairny.com Private Air New York | Winter 2014/2015 24 PHILANTROPHY Following that first trip to Rwanda, Hightower started to think about what she could do to not only contribute to the country's efforts to rebuild, but to contribute – in the words of President Kagame – sustainably. Her answer? Coffee. "It's funny, but you never seem to go too far from where you've been. I was raised in Mississippi by parents who were farmers; I grew up on a farm... ere's a special connection you have with the earth when you make your living from the land. Rwanda's economy is based largely on agriculture and coffee is a primary crop. Starting a company that would rely on the coffees of Rwanda made good sense. We would be creating a market and that market would help create a future." And so, Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda was born. Every bean that goes into Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda comes from the land -and directly from the hands - of a Rwandan farmer, many of them women. Already coveted due in large part to the near perfect growing conditions offered by the East African country, Rwandan coffee – and especially that exported by the cooperatives supported by Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda – is further elevated by their harvesting methods. Farmers working within the coffee cooperatives harvest the beans – or cherries, as they are known at that stage of the process - by hand, without the benefit of machinery. It's then brought to the cooperatively owned washing station where it meticulously sorted four separate times, again by hand, to ensure quality. e cherries are then rinsed and laid in the sun to dry naturally. e labor-intensive process results in an exceptionally high percentage of excellent quality, clean beans that are virtually free of imperfections – what is known in the Rwandan coffee trade as "A" grade, the only grade accepted by Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda. "Just having the company dedicated to a worthy cause wasn't enough," Hightower explains, "e product had to be great quality, too. e farmers are paid a premium for the highly graded coffee. A 'fair trade' price that allows them to have a level of economic stability and a sustainable future that might not have been possible before… and we are able to source what I believe is some of the best coffee in the world." In addition to the four coffee varieties available online at coffeeofgrace.com and through select retailers, the Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda line also features gift sets where coffee is paired with colorful bags or packaged in handmade banana leaf baskets. And each time a sale is made, the future of Rwanda becomes a bit brighter. Indeed, as has been proven by Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda, a strong cup of coffee is more powerful than you think.