Rwanda Washed Bourbon Flavor Profile and Aroma - Rwanda Coffee Varieties and Prices

Rwanda Coffee Production Process

Like many African countries, Rwanda's coffee production is built primarily on small-scale farming. During the annual harvest, farmers gather ripe coffee cherries and deliver them to washing stations for processing. The first step is manual sorting to ensure no unripe or damaged fruit slips in. Next the cherries are depulped, then fermented for 12-18 hours in a cool, low-temperature environment. The adhering mucilage is then scrubbed away in washing channels. During drying on raised beds, station staff turn the beans by hand and tend them carefully, ensuring that under ample sunlight the parchment neither loses moisture too fast nor dries unevenly until the beans' moisture content stabilizes below 14%.

Mushonyi Coffee - Premium Selection

We have previously introduced several premium coffees from Rwanda's Nyamasheke region. This carefully selected Mushonyi lot comes from the Rutsiro region, just north of Nyamasheke and likewise along Lake Kivu. High altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and an excellent climate combine to produce outstanding coffee, and we will keep exploring this gem of a region. This batch was bought direct from the washing station and features the fresh 2015 harvest (roughly June to September)!

Variety: BM-139 (Bourbon)

Washing Station: Mushonyi

Membership: 1,756 smallholder farmers (each cultivating approximately 253 trees)

Flavor Profile: Red apple, cherry, cinnamon, honey

The Mushonyi washing station's award record is astonishing. Beyond winning the 2010 Cup of Excellence, in 2011 alone it took championship, 12th, 16th, and 28th place with four different lots!

Rwanda is one of the fastest-developing specialty coffee producers in East Africa. Setting aside the tragic memory of the genocide, the quality of its specialty coffee has improved at remarkable speed. This year we cupped several Rwandan coffees with fresh textures and a very elegant acidity well worth noting.

Flavor Notes

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

Brewing Method

Pour-over for Rwanda coffee: 15 g of coffee at a medium-fine grind (Fuji grinder, setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water at 90-92°C. Start with a 30 g pour and bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105 g and stop. Once the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, continue pouring slowly to 225 g total, avoiding the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Origin Details

Product: Rwanda West Province Rutsiro Mushonyi CWS Bourbon

Country: Rwanda

Region: Western Province, Rutsiro

Altitude: 1,827 meters

Rainfall: over 1,500 mm

Bourbon coffee (French: Café Bourbon) comes from trees of the Arabica Bourbon cultivar. It was originally cultivated on Réunion, known as Bourbon Island (Île Bourbon) before 1789, and was later spread by France across Africa and Latin America. Today it is grown in the world's premier Arabica regions, typically at altitudes of 3,500 to 6,500 feet (1,062-1,972 meters).

Bourbon Variety Information

Variety: Bourbon

Related: Heirloom

Origin: Bourbon Island

Grows Best At: 800 meters and above

Type: Heirloom

Commonly Found In: Coffee-growing regions worldwide

Cherry Colors: Red, yellow, and orange, but primarily red

Cherry Size: Medium

Leaves: Broad and short

Process: Washed, sun-dried on raised beds

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this washed Bourbon's clean clarity wins you over, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Guodingding Cooperative Yirgacheffe applies the same careful washing discipline to showcase jasmine florals and bright citrus, with green tea and honey tones at a medium-light roast. For a washed coffee bursting with juice, FrontStreet Coffee's double-washed Kenya delivers cherry tomato, dried plum, snow pear, and black plum aromas over golden sugar sweetness.