Why does Rwanda grow such bright arabica coffee beans?

Rwanda is landlocked in central Africa but sits at high altitude with volcanic soil and abundant sunshine, conditions that suit arabica coffee. The 1994 genocide and a sharp fall in global coffee prices nearly destroyed the industry. After independence, the official organization OCIR pushed quality improvement, and washed processing now highlights the floral and citrus notes of the Bourbon variety.

This guide walks through Rwanda's coffee history, the distribution of producing regions, and the washed processing steps, then uses a Red Bourbon from the western shore of Lake Kivu to share concrete pour-over parameters. The reason arabica coffee bean quality rebounded so strongly is partly economic: coffee growing became the main route to raising living standards after the genocide.

Although Rwanda is located inland in Africa, it enjoys superior conditions such as high altitude, volcanic soil, and abundant sunshine, making it a coffee-producing region that cannot be overlooked in the specialty coffee world. However, the 1994 genocide and the sharp drop in global coffee prices once dealt a severe blow to its coffee industry. After independence, with the establishment of the official coffee organization OCIR, Rwanda gradually focused on quality improvement and used the washed processing method to showcase the floral and citrus notes of the Bourbon variety. In this article, Front Street Coffee will guide you through the historical context of Rwandan coffee, the distribution of producing regions, the washed processing procedure, and, using a Red Bourbon from the western shores of Lake Kivu as an example, share specific pour-over parameters and brewing suggestions to help you extract a fresh and rich cup flavor.

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Today, Front Street wants to introduce everyone to Rwandan coffee. Rwanda is located in central Africa and is a landlocked country, close to major coffee-producing countries such as Ethiopia. Logically speaking, Rwanda's coffee industry should have been influenced by the surrounding coffee powers, and its coffee industry should not be too far behind. Here, Front Street will briefly explain the reasons behind this.

According to information Front Street has reviewed, a major event occurred in Rwanda in 1994. A genocide took place between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, causing nearly 1 million people to lose their lives. In addition, global coffee prices plummeted at the time, dealing a huge impact on Rwanda's coffee industry.

After experiencing the genocide, Rwanda lost a large amount of its labor force, leaving behind only women and young children. At that time, Rwanda's economic level was very low. To improve its economic strength, given Rwanda's national conditions at the time, the only option was to rely on growing coffee to raise people's standard of living. According to what Front Street learned, coffee production at that time indeed brought a positive impact on Rwanda's overall economic recovery.

Although Rwanda is a very famous coffee-producing region on the African continent, we rarely get to drink coffee from Rwanda on the market. As for Rwandan coffee, Front Street has only listed one Gaseke coffee, and the reasons for this are very complex. In the early 20th century, Rwanda was successively colonized by Germany and Belgium, and German missionaries were the first to introduce coffee into this African hinterland. The planting area gradually expanded from the earliest Kivu region to the whole country, and most Rwandan coffee consists of variants of Bourbon coffee. At that time, the Belgian government strictly suppressed the quality of coffee exported from Rwanda, forcing Rwanda's coffee industry into a low-price coffee situation of "high yield, low quality." At that time, there were almost no real washing stations for processing coffee in the country.

It was not until after Rwanda gained independence and established its first official coffee organization, OCIR, that it gradually began to attach importance to coffee bean production. Rwanda has a temperate and tropical highland climate, with favorable coffee-growing conditions such as high altitude, volcanic soil, and abundant sunlight. Many of its coffee trees are planted on mountains between 1,700 and 2,000 meters above sea level, so Rwanda is also known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills."

Rwanda's Arabica coffee bean-producing areas are mainly distributed in the south and west. Due to the higher altitude of the Huye mountainous area and Nyamagabe region in the south, the coffee beans have some floral and citrus flavors; while the Nyamasheke region on the shores of Lake Kivu in the west is rich in high-quality coffee with a rich mouthfeel, aroma, and juiciness. The main producing areas include: Southern region: Huye, at a higher altitude, where the coffee has floral notes and citrus acidity. Western region: Lake Kivu, where 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 listed by Front Street belongs to the Nyamasheke region on the shores of Lake Kivu in the west and mainly consists of mixed Bourbon varieties.

More than 90% of Rwandan coffee varieties are Bourbon varieties introduced early on, as well as mixed varieties of the Bourbon family, so these coffee trees have relatively good disease resistance and can withstand general natural disasters. Bourbon coffee was initially popular throughout Latin America, but because of its poor disease resistance, fewer countries planted it. 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) lists Rwandan coffee beans.

The main coffee varieties grown in Rwanda include Red Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai, among which Bourbon (Bourbon) is the most widely planted variety, accounting for more than 90% of Rwanda's coffee output. Bourbon was initially introduced from Central America to Puerto Rico, and was later introduced to the Republic of the Congo in the 1930s. About 20 years later, Bourbon was introduced to Rwanda and became the main coffee variety grown locally.

Front Street believes that the processing method used for a coffee bean is very important. Rwandan coffee is mainly washed processed. The general processing procedure 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's flavor. After fermentation is completed, the mucilage layer is washed off with clean water, and finally the clean coffee beans that still retain parchment are sent for drying. Some coffees are dried on raised beds for 15-22 days, reducing the moisture content of the green coffee beans to around 11% to 13%.

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 the washed processing method as its main processing method, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) greatly appreciates it and considers it a relatively wise choice.

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 fruit acidity will be lost.

Washed processing method - this Rwandan Red Bourbon coffee bean from Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is washed processed. Steps of the washed processing method: after harvesting the fruit, first select high-quality fruit with sufficient ripeness, complete depulping, naturally ferment for 12-24 hours, wash clean, soak in water for 24 hours, wash clean, and finally sun-dry.

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Parameters]

Filter: Hario V60 Water temperature: 90°C Dose: 15 g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind setting: EK43s setting 10 (80% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve)

Brewing suggestion: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses staged extraction. Use 30 g of water for blooming for 30 seconds, then pour in a small stream in circles until 125 g for the first stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter. (Start timing at the beginning of blooming.) The extraction time is 2'00".

Flavor description

[Rwanda] Floral and berry aromas, with obvious citrus, berry, and plum on the palate, nuts in the middle, and a caramel sweetness in the finish.

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