Rwanda Mushonyi Processing Plant Washed Bourbon Specialty Coffee Beans Grind Size Roast Level Processing Method Guide

Processing Method

Washed, raised bed sun-drying

Rwandan coffee, like that of many African countries, comes predominantly from small-scale farmers. Every harvest season, ripe coffee cherries are collected and delivered to processing stations. Farmers pick the ripe cherries and bring them in for handling. First, manual sorting ensures no unripe or damaged fruit slips through. Next, the skin is removed, followed by a 12-18 hour washed fermentation in cool, low-temperature conditions. The clinging pulp is then rinsed away in channels. During raised bed drying, station staff turn and tend the coffee by hand, making sure that under full sunlight the parchment beans neither lose moisture too quickly nor dry unevenly, until the bean moisture stabilizes below 14%.

We have featured several specialty coffees from Rwanda's Nyamasheke region before. This carefully selected Mushonyi lot comes from the Rutsiro region, which lies just north of Nyamasheke, also along Lake Kivu. High altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and an excellent climate combine to create top-quality coffee. We will keep digging deeper into this gem of a Rwandan producing region. This batch was bought direct from the processing station — the freshest lot of the 2015 harvest season (roughly June to September)!!

Coffee Details

Variety: BM-139 (Bourbon)

Processing Station: Mushonyi Processing Station

Producer: 1,756 small-scale member farmers (each small farmer grows approximately 253 trees)

Flavor: Red apple, cherry, cinnamon, honey

[Mushonyi Processing Station's award record is astonishing — besides taking the Cup of Excellence championship in 2010, in 2011 alone they secured four places: champion, 12th, 16th, and 28th!!!]

Rwanda may well be East Africa's fastest-rising specialty coffee producer of recent years. Beyond the still-fresh memory of its tragic genocide, the quality of its specialty coffee has climbed remarkably fast. This year we have cupped several Rwandan coffees with a fresh texture and a very elegant, refined acidity.

Flavor Briefing for This Batch

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

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: Sweet coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Rwanda
Coffee Type: Other

Coffee Specification

Rwanda West Province Rutsiro Mushonyi CWS Bourbon

Country: Rwanda

Region: West Province, Rutsiro Region

Altitude: 1,827 meters

Rainfall: >1,500mm

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washing is the traditional way of processing coffee with water: the cherries are float-sorted, depulped, soaked and fermented to strip the mucilage, rinsed or soaked further, dried, and finally hulled. The long soak triggers chemical changes inside the bean, burning off simple sugars (fructose and glucose) and raising organic acids. Washed coffee therefore keeps more of the bean's own character while gaining bright fruit acidity and a clean, fresh profile — exactly what you taste in this Mushonyi lot.

For another washed favorite, try FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative. Many people know Yirgacheffe, but fewer realize that because local farmers' harvests are so small, their cherries go to cooperatives for joint processing. The Guodingding team is an outstanding, highly experienced processing group that rose to fame on the refinement and cleanliness of its coffee. The washed process lets it show maximum jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity, and after a medium-light roast it adds notes of green tea and honey — delicious as a pour-over, cold brew, or even espresso.

If you love bright, juicy acidity, FrontStreet Kenya Cherry Tomato is one of the finest washed examples around. Kenya excels at double-washing its green beans — an extra round of washing, soaking, and rinsing that strips every trace of mucilage — and the repeated washing and soaking push the juice-like quality of the cup to the extreme. Expect rich aromas of cherry tomato, dried plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, with a sweet-tart, succulent mouthfeel that makes it a favorite among coffee enthusiasts.