How is Rwandan Coffee_ Where Does Rwandan Coffee Come From_ Introduction to Rwandan Coffee Bean Growing Regions

Rolling mountains, lakes laced across the land and lush green earth under an azure sky: that is the impression travelers who have visited Rwanda come away with. Unlike other coffee-growing countries, Rwanda's agricultural infrastructure is very weak, with 80% of the country lacking electricity. Post-harvest processing of the beans therefore becomes decisive for the quality of Rwandan coffee.

Rwanda: Geography and History

The Republic of Rwanda lies in east-central Africa near the equator, a small mountainous country in Central Africa. It borders Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south and Congo to the west. Before 1962 it was a colony, gaining independence from Belgium in 1962.

Coffee Cultivation and Development

Rwanda has grown coffee since the colonial era. The genocide that took place more than 20 years ago brought indelible trauma to this already impoverished agricultural country, with many people lost to the labor force. After the civil war, Rwanda stepped up its efforts in coffee cultivation and trade export, providing technical support to coffee-growing farmers and promoting planting cooperatives. Through relentless effort, Rwandan coffee beans have earned unanimous praise in the international market in recent years.

This batch of imported beans comes from the Mushonyi CWS Washing Station, a coffee processing facility that has received international organic natural farming certification. To produce high-quality, abundant coffee, the washing station uses scientific methods and encourages coffee farmers to adopt organic processing for their beans.

Rwanda has the highest population density of any African country. Since the first export of coffee crops in 1917, this small East African country now has nearly 450,000 coffee farmers.

Each coffee farmer looks after an average of 150-300 coffee trees, with farming areas not exceeding 1 hectare. Internationally they are classified as micro-farmers. Above them sit small-scale farmers. Because micro-farmers cannot afford their own processing facilities, Rwandan coffee farmers deliver their harvested cherries straight to the regional Mushonyi CWS Washing Station for processing.

Coffee Origin Details

Origin: Mushonyi, Rutsiro

Estate/Exporter: Mushonyi CWS Washing Station, RWACOF

Altitude: 1800m-2200m | Variety: Bourbon

Processing Method: Washed | Harvest Period: March - June

Grade: A | Soil: Sandy soil

Cupping Notes: Red apple, cherry, cinnamon, almond, chocolate

Recommended Roast Level: City

Tasting Profile

Rwanda's cupping profile features a delicious, citrusy sweetness with a deep chocolate color, notes of red apple, cherry, cinnamon and honey, excellent sweetness and balance, and a lingering finish of cinnamon, almond and chocolate.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A washed Rwandan Bourbon with red apple, cherry, cinnamon and almond plays well against a clean, sweet Brazilian. The FrontStreet Cerrado Red Bourbon is the closest in character, a red Bourbon from Cerrado that brings cream, peanut and cocoa over a soft, rounded body, and it is easy to brew as a pour-over or a filter coffee. If you want the nut and sweetness pushed further, the FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Estate adds butter, sunflower seed, macadamia and almond with a sugarcane-like clarity, and it drinks smooth whether brewed black or topped with milk.