Rwanda Coffee Bean Flavor Description - Is Rwandan Coffee Good to Drink_ What Makes Rwandan Coffee Special

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Rwanda: The Land of a Thousand Hills

Rwanda is located in the southern part of the equator in central Africa. It is a landlocked country bordering Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, and Uganda to the north. The country is mountainous and known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills." The watershed between the Congo River and the Nile River runs north to south through western Rwanda.

Economic Background

Rwanda's economy is predominantly agricultural, with 92% of the population engaged in farming and animal husbandry. Main cash crops include coffee, tea, and cotton. As an agricultural country that suffered the loss of many young workers in the 1994 genocide, the impact on this already impoverished nation was devastating. Rwanda remains one of the least developed countries today.

Coffee Industry Development

In the post-civil war era, Rwanda has intensified efforts to develop coffee cultivation and trade. The Rwandan government has recently taken active measures to establish coffee production cooperatives across the country, providing farmers with technical guidance and financial support. The hope is to drive domestic economic development through the coffee industry to some extent. Due to the excellent performance of Rwandan coffee in recent years, its reputation in the international market has grown significantly.

Historical Challenges

Rwanda began growing coffee during the colonial era. Although coffee was the main crop, the quality of coffee produced in Rwanda was not outstanding, and it held a low position in the coffee world with few people showing interest. Most coffee varieties grown in Rwanda are Bourbon. With its "Land of a Thousand Hills" reputation, Rwanda possesses high-altitude mountain environments, fertile volcanic soil, and abundant rainfall—conditions ideal for coffee tree growth. With such varietal advantages and excellent natural conditions, Rwanda should have produced high-quality coffee. So why didn't its coffee quality meet expectations? The problem lay in the post-harvest processing环节.

Processing Challenges

Improper processing methods can reduce coffee quality, sacrificing many good flavors unnecessarily. Harvesting, cultivation, processing, grading, and transportation all directly affect the quality of green coffee beans. Lack of control in any of these stages can become an obstacle to producing good coffee.

Coffee cherries need to be transported to processing plants as quickly as possible after harvesting. However, due to inadequate domestic facilities, cherries cannot be processed immediately. When harvested cherries are piled together, lack of ventilation accelerates mold growth and decay. Spoiled cherries affect coffee quality, resulting in defective flavors.

Modern Improvements

In recent years, Rwanda has made significant progress in coffee production and processing. First, coffee cherries are harvested by hand. Coffee production cooperatives have been established across the country to provide technical guidance to coffee farmers. After harvesting, farmers quickly transport cherries to coffee processing stations for washing and selection, choosing only mature, high-quality cherries for processing.

Rwandan coffee is predominantly processed using the washed method. The washed processing method begins with washing and floating selection of mature coffee cherries, followed by removal of the outer skin, pulp, and some mucilage. The coffee is then placed in fermentation tanks to ferment away the remaining mucilage before being sent to drying grounds for drying until moisture content reaches approximately 13%. The coffee in the image above is placed on African beds for drying to avoid soil contamination and achieve better ventilation, preventing mold growth. During drying, farmers regularly turn the beans for more even drying while selecting and discarding inferior quality beans.

Quality Recognition

With various improvements and enhancements in Rwandan coffee, its quality has made a qualitative leap. In the 2008 Cup of Excellence competition held by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), Rwanda's Aromecase premium washed Bourbon defeated Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 and Sumatra Mandheling G1 Special Selection to win the championship. Rwandan coffee has secured its place in the coffee world with its excellent quality, winning more attention.

Flavor Profile

Speaking of Rwandan coffee flavor, I admit to having some initial biases about Rwanda. I remember when I first started with coffee, during olfactory training, I strongly resisted the #3 scent bottle among the 36 aroma bottles—the smell even made me feel nauseous. Consequently, I would automatically associate grassy aromas with the aroma of green peas from the bottle. Due to limited tasting and brewing experience, I subjectively categorized the grassy and lavender-like aromas characteristic of Rwandan coffee as flavors I disliked. So when brewing Rwandan coffee and detecting its distinctive lavender aroma, my coffee craving would retreat. However, as my tasting and brewing experience improved, I gained a new appreciation for Rwandan coffee with its unique aromas.

Before sharing this article with everyone, I conducted a cupping session to provide a more objective evaluation of Rwanda. Properly roasted washed Rwanda exhibits dry aroma with roasted peanut nutty characteristics, accompanied by spice and woody aromas. The wet aroma has intense lavender and grassy notes, with fruit-like sweetness increasing as the temperature drops slightly, while the lavender aroma diminishes. The mouthfeel is clean with high body, good aftertaste, and persistent aroma. The acidity is relatively gentle, with an overall feeling of fullness and smoothness.

Rwandan coffee is like meeting a distinctive friend in life—at first contact, you might keep your distance due to their overly strong personality, but once you truly understand them, you become attracted to their unique qualities. Rwanda is just such a distinctive character.

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