Rwandan Coffee Varieties, How to Brew Rwandan Coffee, and What Are the Flavors of Rwandan Coffee Beans?

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Rwanda: The Land of a Thousand Hills and Premium Coffee

Rwanda is located in the heartland of central Africa. Its mountainous terrain, fertile land, and ancient traditional Bourbon varieties explain why Rwanda is filled with the natural conditions needed for growing high-quality coffee beans. Coffee was introduced to Rwanda by German missionaries in 1904. Starting from 1930, because coffee was the only crop that rural farmers could earn income from, coffee cultivation began to flourish. Whether it was Arabica harvested between March and June or Robusta harvested between May and June, the government encouraged—actually commanded—the production of low-quality, high-yield coffee. Even though the quality was not excellent, it still played a significant role in Rwanda's economic development at that time, as it was one of the few crops that could earn cash. However, with the subsequent collapse of global coffee prices, continuing to promote the export of low-quality Arabica coffee necessarily required changes.

Rwanda Coffee Beans

Rwanda has always been blessed with excellent coffee growing conditions: high altitude, volcanic soil, abundant sunshine, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Since many coffee trees are planted on mountains between 1,700 and 2,000 meters altitude, Rwanda is also known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills." Rwandan coffee can be described as a world-class enjoyment—it is more balanced in flavor than Kenyan coffee, yet clear and well-defined enough to compare with Central American coffee. Generally speaking, Rwandan coffee carries the fresh sweetness of fruits, the delicate fragrance of flowers, and a black tea-like aftertaste. The production model of coffee often depends on the producing country, while Rwandan coffee is entirely produced by small farmers rather than large-scale enterprises. Compared to Brazilian farms, where even small ones reach twenty hectares, Rwanda's 0.1-0.2 hectares are truly insignificant.

The farmers here first pick coffee beans by hand from coffee trees, then send them once more to processing tables, where barefoot, singing farmers collectively stomp them. These coffees are both sweet, with clear lemon flavors, and also subtly reveal berry and chocolate tastes.

For these developing countries, when specialty coffee gains attention and demand increases, coffee naturally becomes one of the main directions for national development, in pursuit of continuous progress and recognition from the international market.

After coffee beans are separated from the fruit, coffee farmers use rakes and water to classify the beans one by one, followed by sun-drying. Since coffee beans are sensitive to air humidity, whenever a breeze suddenly blows, farmers will promptly cover them with tarps.

Rwandan Coffee Flavor Profile

The flavor variations of Rwandan coffee are quite diverse: cherry, grape, lime, chocolate, cantaloupe, orange, honey, candy, apricot, plum, and so on.

In fact, these fruit flavors are all certifications of excellent growing conditions. According to data provided by the National Agricultural Export Development Board, Rwanda currently has approximately 400,000 small production units, with farmlands generally situated at 1,700-2,000 meters altitude. High altitude creates multi-layered coffee flavors. The country's coffee production mostly comes from the western and southern regions, but there are actually five producing regions. In the southwest, the Virunga volcanic region is predominant, and the famous Silverback Mountain is also located here. On the western side of the country, there is the Kivu region next to Lake Kivu. As for the central part of the country, there is the Kizi Rift region. Then moving to the southern end of the map, there is the lower altitude Akagera at approximately 1,300 meters. Finally, in the east, there is the Muhazi region.

Although the characteristics of each region are certainly different, generally speaking, all Rwandan regions have high altitude and nitrogen-rich volcanic soil. To produce high-quality coffee, these conditions are naturally indispensable.

Rwandan Coffee Processing

In the past, each farm processed coffee differently, and coffee beans from individual farms would be collected together and mixed with neighboring ones.

After the genocide, the country began to open up to accept foreign aid, and revitalizing the coffee industry became a national priority. Consequently, projects like PEARL and SPREAD began to emerge domestically, providing farmers with consistent standard training and establishing washing stations to match traditional East African coffee processing methods. Burundi is one of the countries using this processing method, and it executes it perfectly.

Another noteworthy aspect is Africa's unique Fully washed processing method, which involves soaking coffee beans in water twice—a practice not commonly found in Latin America.

The most praiseworthy aspect of Rwandan coffee is that after the coffee cherries are harvested, farmers first select unripe green cherries. Then, the ripe cherries are separated in washing tanks, with only red cherries sent to the hulling machine. Depending on weather conditions at the time, the remaining coffee cherries with pulp will ferment for 24-48 hours. The purpose of fermentation is to avoid damaging the coffee flavor. The clean, still-parchment coffee beans are then sent for drying. All coffee is dried on raised beds for 15-22 days, with moisture content remaining around 11%. When the weather becomes excessively hot, farmers must cover them with cloth; otherwise, the drying process will complete prematurely.

The surface of the best Rwandan coffee should be white, and if the drying process is completed at the right time, there should be no cracks on the beans. This allows for the retention of more organic compounds, resulting in better flavor and extended shelf life.

Rwandan coffee beans from high altitude, processed using the fully washed method, are generally sweet and full-bodied.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Parameters for Rwandan Coffee:

V60/1:15/90℃/2 minutes

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