The technicians then move the beans to the technical centre in nearby Kizi. Certain machines, housed in a warehouse up the side of the hill, remove the parchment skins from the beans.Employees take the beans into the adjacent laboratory for the final quality control process – hand sorting – which is carried out by several experienced women. The beans are bagged and labeled according to their quality, and stored in the compound's warehouse to await sale.
Products and customers
As of 2006, Maraba produces 80 short tons (73,000 kg) of export-quality coffee per year, of which 40 tons go to roasters and sellers in the United Kingdom and 40 tons to the United States.
The coffee appears in the following products:
* Maraba Bourbon coffee, produced by Union Coffee for Sainsbury's and other UK-based outlets.
* "New Orleans Jazz" Blend and Hotel blend, two Community Coffee brands containing a blend of Maraba and other coffees. As of 2006, Community are considering launching Maraba as a single origin brand.
* Café de Maraba, the brand produced by Rwanda Roasters and sold in upmarket shops in Rwanda, including all Total petrol stations and the Intercontinental Hotel. It is the most expensive coffee generally available in the country.
* Meantime Coffee, the beer produced by Meantime Breweries of London.
* Intelligentsia have used the coffee in various blends in 2005, due to their shipment arriving late, but intends also to launch it as a single-origin brand in the future.
