A Quick Guide to the Pfunda Tea Tour
The Pfunda tea tour is a great addition to your itinerary if you are driving between Musanze and Gisenyi. Pfunda is part of the Silverback Tea Company, a brand you will likely recognize from shops all over Rwanda. While many visitors enjoy the rolling hills of the tea fields (I’ve done that near Nyungwe Forest), this tour experience focuses on the industrial heart of the production. I went with my friend Ursula when she visited me in Rwanda!
About Silverback Tea
Silverback operates three factories, with Pfunda being a primary hub. All teas produced here are Rainforest Alliance certified and 100% pesticide-free. The factory is supplied by 3,600 local farmers divided into two cooperatives, managing 810 hectares of smallholder tea. Impressively, over 90% of the tea processed here is supplied by these smallholders.
Logistics and Planning
The factory is open every day except Monday. While you can just show up, you can also book your pfunda tea tour in advance with Fabian at +250788507022. He is the official guide from the factory.
- Tour length: The experience typically lasts between 40 minutes and an hour, depending on how many questions you have.
- Cost: $15 or 25,000 RWF. Cash or momo only.
- Location: The factory is 15 minutes from Gisenyi, 1 hour 15 minutes from Musanze, and 3.5 hours from Kigali.
- Tour Type: This is a factory tour. While there are a few tea bushes at the entrance, the focus is entirely on how leaves are processed, packaged, and sold rather than a tour through a tea plantation.
The Tea Processing Journey
The pfunda tea tour begins with an explanation of how the bushes are harvested and how the factory manages its intake. The facility is a busy hub, with 250 people working across three shifts.
Drying the Leaves
We started in the receiving area where bags of fresh leaves arrive. They are spread across long tables with industrial fans underneath to wither for 8 hours. Once the leaves lose 30% of their moisture, they move to the cutting stage.
Cutting and Oxidation
The aroma inside the factory is incredibly potent, so before we entered the factory, masks were provided.
Machines chop the leaves into fine pieces and move them onto a conveyor belt. For green tea, the leaves go straight to the dryer. However, the factory processes the majority as black tea, which requires oxidation. During this hour-long process, the leaves sit on a slow-moving belt where exposure to the air naturally turns them from green to brown.
Drying and Sorting
Next, the tea enters a massive dryer set at 140°C! After drying, the husks and fibers (think: stems) are separated from the leaf particles. The dry tea then goes to a sorter, similar to those used in coffee production, which separates the granules into four sizes.
Fabian is a knowledgeable tea expert and answered all our questions throughout the tour.
Packaging and Export
Once sorted, workers package the tea for export. Surprisingly, Rwanda sends about 95% of its tea abroad, primarily because its people prefer coffee and beer. Pfunda ships much of its product to markets in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
The Tasting Experience
After seeing the packing floor, we headed for a quick tasting. We sampled each of the four granule sizes using a tasting spoon. You can really notice the profile shift between the different grades. Currently, the second size is the most popular and profitable.
Final Thoughts on the Pfunda Tea Tour
Our tour was a just about 40 minutes, which was perfect amount of time to take in the process. If you want to take some tea home, there is a gift shop located on the main road (NR2) just before the turn-off to the factory, when coming from Kigali/Musanze.
This was my first tea factory experience, and I thought it was a great way to learn about how tea is processed and add another unique element to my experience in Rwanda! If you have the chance, do it!