What Does a Coffee Roaster Find in Rwandan Beans?

Rwandan coffee is grown between 1,700 and 2,000 meters on volcanic soil in the hills the country is named for, and it cups more balanced than Kenyan beans. Expect fresh fruit sweetness, floral aroma, and a black tea finish, with producing areas in the south and west giving floral and citrus notes at higher elevations.

A coffee roaster working with Gaseke washed Bourbon found that smallholder plots of 0.1 to 0.2 hectares dominate the country's output, unlike larger farms elsewhere. That structure keeps lots small and traceable. The balance sits between Kenya's dense fruit acidity and the cleaner profile often associated with central american coffee.

Rwanda is known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills," where high altitude, volcanic soil, and abundant sunlight give coffee unique flavor potential. Unlike Kenya's intense fruit acidity, Rwandan coffee is known for a more balanced mouthfeel, floral and fruity sweetness, and a black tea finish. This article will systematically examine the flavor formation of Rwandan coffee from growing environment, producing region distribution, historical development, variety characteristics, to washed processing methods, and combine Front Street Coffee's roasting and cupping practice to present the true performance of Gaseke washed Bourbon.

In the African coffee landscape, Front Street Kenya coffee beans have won over many enthusiasts with their rich fruity acidity, an acidity as dense as tomato juice or berry juice. However, Africa does not have only Kenya standing out alone—Rwanda also produces coffee with a distinctive flavor. Front Street recently purchased several Rwandan coffee beans for roasting and cupping, and found that their taste is more balanced than Kenya's. Overall, Front Street Rwandan coffee often presents fresh fruit sweetness, floral fragrance, and a finish similar to black tea.

Rwanda Growing Environment

Rwanda has exceptional conditions for coffee cultivation: high altitude, volcanic soil, abundant sunlight, and Cabernet Sauvignon. A large number of coffee trees grow in mountainous areas between 1,700 and 2,000 meters above sea level, which is why Rwanda is also called the "Land of a Thousand Hills." Rwandan coffee can be called a world-class enjoyment, both more balanced than Kenyan coffee and clear enough to rival Central American coffee. Generally speaking, Rwandan coffee has fresh fruit sweetness, floral fragrance, and a black tea-like finish. The operating model of the coffee production line often varies by country. Rwanda's coffee is entirely produced by smallholders rather than large enterprises, and most African coffee cultivation models are dominated by smallholders. Compared with farms in Brazil, where even a small farm has twenty hectares, Rwanda's 0.1 to 0.2 hectares is truly negligible.

Rwanda Coffee Producing Regions

Rwanda's specialty coffee bean producing regions are mainly distributed in the south and west. The Huye mountainous area and Nyamagabe region in the south, due to higher altitude, give coffee beans floral and citrus flavors; the Nyamasheke region by Lake Kivu in the west is rich in high-quality coffee with a full body and aromatic juiciness. Although the flavor differences between producing regions are not very significant, careful tasting still reveals distinctions. People often ask Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) how to distinguish them, always feeling that flavor is something mystical. In fact, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also undergone extensive flavor cognition training to be able to identify the coffee flavors of different producing regions. This requires time, energy, and persistence.

Changes in Rwanda's Coffee Industry

Rwanda is located in central Africa and is a standard landlocked country, with none of its neighboring countries anything other than major coffee-producing nations. In the early 20th century, Rwanda successively became a colony of Germany and Belgium, and German missionaries were the first to introduce coffee. During the colonial period, coffee production increased significantly, but labor exploitation, suppression of coffee crop prices, and high export taxes meant the quality of the coffee beans was not ideal. This was also a normal phenomenon in the development of commercial coffee at the time. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) found that Brazil, which also experienced colonial rule, once produced coffee beans that emphasized quantity over quality, causing it to carry a reputation for poor coffee quality for a period of time.

It was not until after Rwanda gained independence and established its first official coffee organization, OCIR, that attention was gradually paid to coffee bean production. Rwanda's coffee production continued to grow from the 1960s to the 1980s and reached an unprecedented peak in 1986, until domestic political instability in the early 1990s (the Rwandan genocide) brought the coffee industry to a halt. Today Rwanda has slowly regained vitality. After 1995, due to the Rwandan government's vigorous development efforts and the support of foreign non-governmental organizations and private groups, Rwanda was able to restore stability. However, this year, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rwanda's coffee sales have undoubtedly been considerably impacted. In order to help Rwandan coffee farmers get through these difficulties.

Rwanda Coffee Cultivated Varieties

More than 90% of Rwandan coffee varieties are Bourbon, introduced in the early period, as well as mixed varieties of the Bourbon family, which have the ability to resist natural disasters. Bourbon coffee was first planted on Réunion Island, introduced to Brazil in 1860, and quickly expanded northward throughout Latin America. The several Latin American Bourbon coffee beans that Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) currently purchases include Brazil Red Bourbon, Brazil Yellow Bourbon, and Colombia Pink Bourbon.

However, the advantage of Bourbon varieties in Latin America no longer exists because of poor disease resistance. By contrast, Rwandan Bourbon varieties still enjoy an advantage, which is one of the reasons Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) purchases Rwandan coffee beans. For Red Bourbon, generally after the coffee tree flowers and bears fruit, the color change of the coffee fruit goes from: green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > ripe red > then darker red as it becomes more mature. Therefore some people also call it [Red Bourbon variety]. In fact, Red Bourbon is simply what we generally call Bourbon. Bourbon planted at high altitude usually has better aroma, while the acidity is brighter, and it even tastes somewhat like red wine. In the past, Rwanda's post-harvest processing management was inadequate, becoming a stumbling block to specialty coffee.

After picking, coffee fruits need to be transported to a processing station as soon as possible for processing, but Rwanda lacks facilities and cannot process the fruit immediately. After being picked, the fruits are piled together, and due to lack of ventilation they continue to develop, accelerating mold and rot. Spoiled fruit affects coffee quality and produces defective flavors. In addition, Rwandan coffee can be traced back to the washing station. The washing station is supplied by cooperatives or smallholder farmers, and each smallholder household has an average of 183 coffee trees. Therefore, it is very difficult for Rwandan coffee to be traced back to an individual producer, and it is hard to guarantee consistent coffee quality.

The Washed Processing Used for Rwandan Coffee

In 2000, in Rwanda, which had just experienced internal chaos, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded two major coffee development programs, PEARL and SPREAD, aimed at supporting Rwanda's reconstruction. After the programs were implemented, Rwanda successively built 46 coffee washing stations, allowing Rwanda's economy to achieve significant growth under strong coffee bean exports.

Rwandan coffee beans mainly use the washed processing method. Ripe coffee fruits are hand-selected, the skin and pulp are removed, and washing fermentation is carried out for 12-18 hours to clean off the pectin, and finally the beans are dried until the moisture content is below 14%. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that when Rwandan coffee beans were at the beginning of their development, establishing washed processing as the main method was a choice that could clearly highlight the coffee's flavor. This is because washed processing is the method that best expresses the essential flavor of coffee. When recommending a coffee producing region, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also first recommends washed coffee beans to customers, so that they can understand the flavor characteristics of that producing region relatively clearly.

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

Coffee producing region: Nyamasheke

Processing station: Gaseke Processing Station

Growing altitude: 1,700 to 2,000 meters

Processing method: washed processing

Coffee varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Gaseke Washing Station

Fidele Ndagijmana is a young trader in the Nyamasheke region. He saw the development potential of Rwanda's specialty washed coffee and applied to the government to build this processing station, successfully processing 170 tons of coffee fruit in the first year. He used the off-season to improve and expand production equipment, so that when the next harvest season arrived he could provide better production machines and a better storage environment. This outstanding trader also secured more land near the processing station for himself to cultivate coffee.

Front Street Roasting Suggestions

Because Rwandan coffee has delicate acidity and a fresh flavor, in order to highlight these characteristics, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends a medium-light roast.

Yangjia 800N: charge at a drum temperature of 175°C, heat power 120, airflow opening 3; turning point at 1'36", when the drum temperature is 112°C open the airflow to 4, and raise the heat power to 140; when the drum temperature is 151°C the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage; at 8'30", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark streaks, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time you must clearly listen for the sound of the first crack. At 9'45" first crack begins, open the airflow to 5, develop for 1'30'' after first crack, and discharge at 190.6°C. Front Street Cupping Report

Front Street Brewing Suggestions

Dripper V60

Water temperature 90°C

Dose 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio 1:15

Grind size EK43s #10 setting (80% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve)

Brewing method: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses staged extraction, using 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pouring in a small stream in a circular motion up to 125 grams for the stage, and when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225 grams and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time is 2'00".

Front Street Rwanda Washed Red Bourbon Flavor Description: pleasant, citrusy sweetness, bright acidity, berry, apple, citrus, honey sweetness in the middle, high-quality sweetness and balance, and an almond and chocolate finish.

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