Our first Rwanda’s are now available with a whole lot more on the way.
Fresh Rwandan coffee’s are finally in, and we’ve just listed the first three lots to our website. These can be ordered by clicking the links below, or grab all three in our 1-Click RwandaA Bourbon cultivar variant from Rwanda and Burundi. Bourbon coffees are named for the island in the India Ocean where French colonists grew it. Some history from the... Trio coffee set.
While Rwandan coffees can taste quite different – as these first three demonstrate – the 100% BourbonA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between "Sumatra" and Red Bourbon,... varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies... stock means a high potential for sweetnessSweetness is an important positive quality in fine coffees, and is one of five basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Savory (Umami). In coffee, sweetness is a highly.... While it may be accurate description, simply describing them as “sweet” would be a disservice as there is a lot more going on in the cups of this initial trio.
Our Rwandan coffees earn some of the highest scores on our list, and it’s a wonder we don’t see more used in coffee competitions. Some pair KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... brightnessA euphemistic term we use often to describe acidity in coffee. A bright coffee has more high, acidic notes. : A euphemistic term to describe acidity in coffee.... with tempering sweetness, while others are well balanced and bittersweetBittersweet is from the language of chocolate, and describes the co-presence of positive bittering compounds balanced by sweetness. It is directly related to caramelization, but has inputs from... in the vein of our finest Guatemalan coffees. With 24 lots between two shipping containers, I can tell you that the roster in store covers a lot of ground!
We’re putting our best foot forward with classic wet processWet-processing starts by removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry with a machine called a pulper, then fermenting the remaining fruit (with green bean inside) in water... lots from three of washing stations that are super stars in our lineup each year; Tumba, Gitesi and Gitwe. Flavors range from syrupy raw sugars, to fruitedIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see... hints, to aromatic spice and tea notes that we often associate with Rwandan coffee (and neighboring BurundiBurundi coffee bears resemblance to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi is a small landlocked country at the crossroads of East... too…but those are still a few weeks away).
Here’s a quick overview of what’s in store from each of these highly prized coffees, with links to full reviews, and resources in our library specific to Rwanda. Or save yourself the difficult decision and buy all three in our 1-Click Rwanda Trio set.
Rwanda Karongi Gitesi (or here for Coffee Shrub): We’ve been a buyer of Gitesi for over a decade now, and it’s routinely one of our more elegant Rwandan coffees. The organization and cleanliness maintained at Gitesi is impressive, which you can see for yourself in Tom’s video and podcast from a 2014 site visit – Gitesi Podcast and processing video. The cup – Impressive base sweetness marked by Darjeeling spiced tea, black currant, and a hint of lemon
Lemon notes, as well as other related citrusy flavors or acidities, are prized in coffee. These usually express themselves as a bright accent in the cup, or aromatic... adds to the overall acidic impression. Elegant as pour over, and yields spiced chocolate
A general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of chocolate. But what type? Usually described with more specifics.: Chocolate is a broad, general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of... as espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is....
Rwanda Rulindo Tumba (or here for Coffee Shrub): Tumba stands out to me as having a little more fruit than the others, as well as heft in both bodyAssociated with and sensed by mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew, caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup, including all... and bittersweetness if roasted a little darker. Tom included a few recent photos from his July 2022 trip as part of a photo travelogue of his first visit back since the pandemic – Rwanda: Getting Back to the Coffee Lands (audio version available too). The cup – Abundant sweetness accented by hints of pomegranate, berry tea, dried tamarind, and a brisk note of black tea with lemon. Bittersweet chocolate with a note of Dr. Pepper when roasted dark.
Rwanda Nyamasheke Gitwe (or here for Coffee Shrub): The Gitwe station came on our radar a little more recently than others, but long enough to have seen the improvements each year. Tom made a great video of coffee being processed at the Gitwe site a few years back that offers a view into a day at Gitwe during the harvest season, and also serves as a nice introduction to Rwandan coffee production in general. The cup – Fragrant baking spice notes add a delicate touch to the light roasts of Gitwe, with transparent sweetness, black tea, dried apple
An acid that adds to favorable perceptions of cup quality; malic acid often adds apple-like acidity, and perhaps other taste aspects recalling apples. Malic acid is yet another..., lemon brightness, and an aromatic Assam tea note in the aftertasteAftertaste refers to lingering residual sensations in the mouth after coffee has swallowed. It might be distinguished from "finish" which is the final sensations of the coffee while....
