Rwanda has ideal conditions for growing coffee, including high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils, and an abundance of the Bourbon coffee bean variety. Most of the country's coffee is produced by an estimated half-million smallholder farmers, each with land often no larger than one hectare.

Coffee is grown throughout Rwanda, with large concentrations of farms located along Lake Kivu and in the southern province. Smallholders are organized into cooperatives and share the use of centralized wet-mills, also known as washing stations. Coffee plants flower between September and October, and the harvest takes place from March to July. Shipments of coffee begin in August and continue through December.

The Kirambo coffee washing station, built in 2008, is situated on a hill with land that extends to the shores of Lake Kivu. For many years, the station struggled due to a lack of working capital and was rented out to different operators annually. This prevented farmers from having a consistent partner to support them beyond simply buying their coffee cherries.

In 2017, RTC purchased the Kirambo station and began operating it for the first time during the 2018 season. That year, all farmers were registered to participate in RTC's farmer impact programs and certification training. The high quality of the coffee and the cooperative nature of the farmers at Kirambo have allowed RTC to produce excellent fully washed and natural coffees.

Upon delivery to the Kirambo station, coffee cherries are floated and separated to remove any defective ones. The coffee is then spread on raised African beds in a layer about 2cm thick, where it is dried for up to 30 days. During this time, the coffee is turned hourly and covered at night.