Although Rwanda is landlocked in Africa, it has become an indispensable origin on the specialty coffee map thanks to its high altitude, volcanic soil, and temperate highland climate. This article traces the complete trajectory of Rwandan coffee—from low-quality, high-volume production during the colonial period, through a difficult recovery after the genocide, to the establishment of a washed-processing system, the hosting of the Cup of Excellence, and its entry into international markets. It also introduces the flavor differences among major producing regions such as the South and West, analyzes the reasons behind the Bourbon family being the core variety and washed processing being the dominant method, and includes information on the Gaseke coffee beans offered by Front Street Coffee along with brewing suggestions, helping readers gain a comprehensive understanding of the coffee strength of this "Land of a Thousand Hills."

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Today Front Street would like to talk with you about Rwandan coffee. This country is located in central Africa, is landlocked, and is not far from major coffee-producing countries like Ethiopia. Logically, surrounded by strong neighboring countries, Rwanda's coffee industry should not be too far behind. Front Street will now briefly sort out the ins and outs of this for everyone.

According to information Front Street has found, in 1994 Rwanda experienced an event that shocked the world—a genocidal conflict broke out between the Hutu and Tutsi, causing nearly a million deaths. During the same period, international coffee prices also plummeted. Under this double blow, Rwanda's coffee industry suffered an extremely severe impact.

After the catastrophe, Rwanda lost a large amount of labor, and those who remained were mostly women and children. At that time, the country's economic level was extremely low. To boost the economy and improve people's livelihoods, considering the national conditions at the time, the only option was to rely on growing coffee. Front Street has learned that coffee production indeed played a positive role in promoting Rwanda's overall economic recovery.

Although Rwanda is a fairly well-known coffee-producing region on the African continent, Rwandan coffee that can be drunk on the market is very rare. Front Street currently only offers one coffee, Gaseke. The reasons behind this are quite complex. In the early 20th century, Rwanda was successively colonized by Germany and Belgium, and coffee was first introduced to this African hinterland by German missionaries. The planting range gradually expanded from the earliest Kivu region to the whole country, and most Rwandan coffee belongs to variants of the Bourbon variety. At that time, the Belgian government strictly suppressed the quality of Rwanda's coffee exports, forcing the country's coffee industry into a long-term low-price state of "high yield, low quality," and there were almost no truly meaningful washing stations in the country.

It was not until Rwanda became independent and established its first official coffee organization, OCIR, that coffee bean production gradually received attention. Rwanda has a temperate and tropical highland climate, and conditions such as high altitude, volcanic soil, and abundant sunshine are all very favorable for coffee cultivation. Many coffee trees grow in mountainous areas between 1,700 and 2,000 meters above sea level, so Rwanda is also called the "Land of a Thousand Hills."

Rwanda's Arabica coffee bean producing areas are mainly concentrated in the South and West. The southern Huye mountain area and Nyamagabe region are at higher altitudes, and the coffee beans carry floral and citrus flavors; the Nyamasheke region by Lake Kivu in the West is rich in high-quality coffee with a full body, rich aroma, and juicy character. The main producing areas include: Southern region: Huye, at a relatively high altitude, the coffee has floral and citrus acidity. Western region: Lake Kive, the coffee has a richer mouthfeel and a fruity juice-like texture. Eastern region: Ngoma Lakes, with chocolate and fruity flavors. Northern region: with citrus, nut, and caramel flavors. The Gaseke coffee offered by Front Street belongs to the Nyamasheke region by Lake Kivu in the West and is mainly a Bourbon mixed variety.

More than 90% of Rwandan coffee varieties are the Bourbon variety introduced early on, as well as mixed varieties of the Bourbon family. This type of coffee tree has relatively good disease resistance and can withstand general natural disasters. Bourbon coffee was initially popular throughout Latin America, but due to poor disease resistance, the number of countries cultivating it gradually decreased. The several Latin American Bourbon coffee beans currently purchased by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) include Brazil Red Bourbon, Brazil Yellow Bourbon, and Colombia Pink Bourbon. By comparison, Rwandan Bourbon still enjoys advantages, which is also one of the reasons Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) offers Rwandan coffee beans.

Front Street believes that the processing method used for a bean is very important. Rwandan coffee is mainly washed processed. The general processing process is as follows: the harvested coffee cherries are floated to remove coffee cherries with insufficient density, then the skin and pulp are removed, then the coffee beans with mucilage are left to ferment in a water tank. The purpose of fermentation is to avoid damaging the coffee flavor. After fermentation is completed, the mucilage layer is washed off with clean water, and finally the clean coffee beans that still have parchment are sent for drying. Some coffees are dried on raised beds for 15-22 days, bringing the moisture content of the green coffee beans down to about 11% to 13%.

Rwanda pays great attention to details in the washing process. After harvesting coffee cherries, their coffee farmers select out unripe cherries, and only red cherries are sent to the depulper. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also believes that washed coffee has higher acidity, good cleanliness, and an overall stable performance.

Therefore, when Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends coffee beans from a certain producing region, it always first recommends washed coffee beans, because washing is the processing method that best reflects the essential flavor of coffee, and through washed coffee beans one can understand the flavor characteristics of that producing region. As for Rwanda adopting washed processing as its main processing method, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) greatly appreciates it and considers it a relatively wise choice.

Afterward, Rwanda's coffee development was also relatively rapid. In 2010, the country held the Cup of Excellence competition, becoming the only African country to have hosted the Cup of Excellence competition. Through the Cup of Excellence online auction system, buyers were able to find the highest-quality coffee lots, thereby promoting Rwandan coffee to the market. Not long ago, Viya supported Rwanda, a friendly country of our nation, in her livestream, selling local coffee beans through livestream commerce, which brought a very positive impact to Rwandan coffee.

Rwanda has performed well in COE, but in two competitions it was disqualified due to a potato taste. Perhaps Front Street readers do not understand what it means for a potato taste to appear in coffee beans. Front Street will explain it to everyone here. In fact, potato taste is a manifestation of quality defects in green coffee beans. It can be smelled in green beans, and it can also be smelled when roasting or grinding roasted beans. Opinions differ on the cause of potato taste. One explanation that Front Street relatively agrees with is that the formation of this taste may be caused by bacteria left on coffee cherries by insects, and it has a very destructive effect on coffee production. Fortunately, however, the Rwandan coffee beans brought in by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) do not have a potato taste. So everyone can rest assured and buy this bean at Front Street.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also undergone extensive flavor recognition training to distinguish the coffee flavors of the Rwandan producing region. Therefore, when Front Street roasts this Rwandan coffee, in order to highlight Rwanda's fresh acidity, rich mouthfeel, floral and citrus flavors, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a medium-light roast, because the darker the roast level, the more fruity acidity is lost.

Here, the specific information of this Rwandan coffee from Front Street is attached.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Rwanda Gaseke Coffee Beans

Coffee region: Nyamasheke Processing station: Gaseke Processing Station Growing altitude: 1,700 to 2,000 meters Processing method: washed processing Coffee varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai Flavor: citrus sweetness, bright acidity, berries, apple, honey sweetness in the mid-palate, excellent sweetness and balance, almond and chocolate finish

Brewing suggestions

Dripper: V60 Water temperature: 92-93°C Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: caster sugar size (sift to 78% with a No. 20 sieve)

Three-stage pouring: wet the coffee bed with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds to form a dome and bloom for 30s, then pour in a small stream in circles from the inside out until 125g and pause, wait for the coffee bed to drop to half the height of the dripper, continue pouring the third stage with the same fine stream until 225g, and after all the coffee liquid has filtered through, remove the dripper. The time is about 2 minutes.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.