Rwanda Mushonyi Processing Station Washed Bourbon Specialty Coffee Beans Flavor Characteristics, Origin Region and Brewing Parameters

Mushonyi Processing Station's award record is genuinely impressive. Beyond winning the Cup of Excellence (COE) in 2010, it took four placements in 2011 alone: champion, 12th, 16th, and 28th!!!

Rwanda is one of East Africa's fastest-rising specialty coffee origins. Alongside its fresh, clean textures, the coffees we have cupped this year show a very elegant, refined acidity that is well worth noting.

Flavor Notes for This Batch:

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

Product Information:

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: House-roasted coffee beans
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste Profile: Sweet coffee beans
Product Form: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Rwanda
Coffee Type: Other

Coffee Details:

Rwanda West Province Rutsiro Mushonyi CWS Bourbon

Country: Rwanda
Region: Rutsiro District, Western Province
Altitude: 1827 meters
Rainfall: >1500mm

Bourbon (French: Café Bourbon) is an Arabica variety grown from Bourbon cultivar trees. It was first cultivated on Réunion — known as Bourbon Island (Île Bourbon) before 1789 — and later spread through French connections to the African continent and Latin America. Today it is one of the two most widely planted Arabica variety groups in the world, typically grown at altitudes of 3500 to 6500 feet (1062-1972 meters).

Variety: Bourbon
Classification: Heirloom
Origin: Bourbon Island
Optimal Growing Altitude: 800 meters and above
Type: Heirloom
Distribution: Suitable for coffee cultivation worldwide
Cherry Color: Red, yellow, and orange, but mainly red
Bean Size: Medium
Leaf Characteristics: Broad and short

Brewing Method:

Hand-poured Rwanda. Dose 15g of coffee at a medium-fine grind (Fuji Royal Ghost Tooth grinder, setting 3.5), brewed on a V60 dripper with water at 90-92°C. Start with a 30g bloom for 27 seconds, then pour up to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to half, pour slowly up to 225g total and cut the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15; extraction time: 2:00.

Processing Method: Washed, dried on raised African beds

As in many African countries, Rwandan coffee is produced primarily by smallholder farmers. During each harvest, farmers gather ripe cherries and deliver them to washing stations. There, the cherries are first hand-sorted to remove any unripe or damaged fruit, then depulped and fermented in a cool, low-temperature environment for 12-18 hours before the remaining pectin is washed away in grading channels. During drying on raised beds, station staff turn the beans by hand and tend them carefully, ensuring that under adequate sun exposure the parchment dries evenly without losing moisture prematurely, until moisture content stabilizes below 14%.

We have previously introduced several specialty coffees from Rwanda's Nyamasheke region. This carefully selected Mushonyi lot comes from Rutsiro, just north of Nyamasheke and likewise on the shores of Lake Kivu. High altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and an excellent climate together produce outstanding coffee, and we will keep exploring this gem of a region. This lot was purchased directly from the processing station and features freshly harvested beans from the 2015 season (roughly June to September)!!

Variety: BM-139 (Bourbon)
Processing Station: Mushonyi Processing Station
Producers: 1756 smallholder member farmers (each cultivating roughly 253 trees)
Flavor: Red apple, cherry, cinnamon, honey

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: Kenya Double-Washed, The Juicy Washed Classic

If the washed process fascinates you, few lots showcase it as vividly as FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya washed beans — the lot our regulars know as "Little Tomato." Kenya is a master of double fermentation washing, adding a second wash-and-soak pass to scrub away every trace of fruit residue. The result is an intensely juicy cup: cherry tomato, dark plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, with a bright sweet-tart mouthfeel that coffee enthusiasts keep coming back to. Where Mushonyi leans toward apple and honey, this Kenya delivers the fruit-basket side of washed processing at its most electric.