Rwanda Mushonyi Processing Plant Washed Bourbon Premium Coffee Bean Variety Cultivation and Market Price Introduction

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Coffee Information

Variety: BM-139 (Bourbon)

Processing Station: Mushonyi Processing Station

Farm Owner: 1,756 member smallholder farmers (each smallholder farms approximately 253 trees)

Flavor Notes: Red apple, cherry, cinnamon, honey

Award Record: Mushonyi Processing Station's award record is truly impressive. Besides winning the COE Cup of Excellence championship in 2010, they secured four placements in 2011 alone: champion, 12th place, 16th place, and 28th place!!!

Rwanda can be described as a rapidly developing specialty coffee-producing country in East Africa. Beyond the fresh memory of its tragic genocide story, the quality of its specialty coffee has been improving rapidly. This year, we have cupped several Rwandan coffees with fresh textures and very elegant, refined acidity.

Flavor Brief for This Batch

Red apple, cherry, cinnamon and honey, excellent sweetness and balance, with a cinnamon, almond, and chocolate aftertaste.

Product Details

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Ingredients: House-roasted

Shelf Life: 30 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Taste Profile: Sweet coffee beans

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Rwanda

Coffee Type: Other

Rwanda West Province Rutsiro Mushonyi CWS Bourbon

Country: Rwanda

Region: Rutsiro District, Western Province

Altitude: 1,827 meters

Rainfall: >1,500mm

Processing Method: Washed, dried on raised African beds

Like many African countries, Rwandan coffee is primarily produced by smallholder farmers. During each harvest season, farmers gather ripe coffee cherries and send them to processing stations for handling. First, manual selection ensures no unripe or damaged fruits are mixed in. Next, the pulp is removed, followed by a 12-18 hour washed fermentation in a cool, low-temperature environment. Then, the adhering mucilage is thoroughly cleaned in channels. During drying on raised beds, station members carefully turn the beans by hand, ensuring that under sufficient sunlight the parchment beans don't lose moisture or dry unevenly, until the bean's moisture content stabilizes below 14%.

We have previously introduced several specialty coffees from Rwanda's Nyamasheke region. This carefully selected Mushonyi comes from the Rutsiro region, located north of Nyamasheke and also situated along Lake Kivu. High altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and an excellent climate create high-quality coffee. We will continue to deeply explore Rwanda as a gem-producing region. This batch is a direct trade batch purchased from the processing station—the latest fresh harvest from the 2015 season (approximately June to September)!!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The clean, elegant acidity of this washed Rwandan Bourbon is exactly the style that makes washed African coffee so appealing, and FrontStreet Coffee's washed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Geddin Cooperative is a fine companion cup. As many coffee lovers' first stop in specialty coffee, Yirgacheffe is hugely popular, usually carrying distinct citrus, berry, and floral notes with a green-tea-like sweetness. Unlike the "sour coffee" many people imagine, a good Yirgacheffe's acidity is soft and bright, more like the natural sweet-sour of fruit than a sharp bite, making it very easy to accept. Geddin lies in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe and was once part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU union; in 2012 about 300 farmers formed it independently, and its washed processing—removing the pulp before drying—makes its inherent aroma clearer and more transparent, showing citrus and lemon notes with elegant white florals.

If you enjoy the juicy, red-fruit side of washed coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Cherry Tomato is a standout example. Kenya is especially skilled at double washed processing, repeating the washing step and using flotation, soaking, washing off residual mucilage, soaking again, then drying and hulling. The repeated rinsing and soaking push the juice quality to the extreme, with rich notes of cherry tomato, dark plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, and a sweet-sour, juicy body that makes it a favorite of many coffee players. Both of these washed coffees reward a three-stage pour at a medium-fine grind, just like the Rwandan lot here.