How Much Does Rwandan Coffee Cost? Is Rwandan Coffee Good? Why Are Rwandan Coffee Beans So Rare?

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Rwanda's Coffee Excellence: From Adversity to Recognition

As early as 2008, Rwanda joined the Cup of Excellence (COE) green bean competition program. From 2008 to 2013, Rwandan coffee beans had already become the new favorite in the European and American markets.

So why is it so challenging to find a good Rwandan coffee, despite their inherent quality?

Challenges Facing Rwandan Coffee

Firstly, Rwanda's overall coffee production is relatively low (evident from its land area). This factor prevents Rwandan coffee beans from being as ubiquitous as the readily available Ethiopian and Kenyan varieties in the market.

Secondly, despite Rwanda's high-quality coffee, its location as a landlocked African country presents significant transportation challenges. Coffee must travel from Rwanda through Tanzania, then be exported from Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port. However, because Tanzanian coffee is relatively inexpensive and the area has security issues, cargo is frequently vulnerable to robbery or substitution.

Additionally, frequent conflicts have severely damaged Rwanda's coffee industry. Even when excellent beans are produced, various factors prevent their export.

Historical Context: The Impact of Conflict

The 1994 Rwandan Civil War and genocide brought immense disaster to the country.

The population changes resulting from the genocide exacerbated the challenges for this already impoverished nation, with massive loss of labor and the national economy on the brink of collapse.

The genocide also dramatically altered the country's demographic structure, with children under 14 accounting for approximately 40% of the total population, and many women becoming widows...

Discovery of Exceptional Rwandan Coffee

In March 2018, we finally encountered three varieties of Rwandan green beans at the Shanghai Exhibition. After multiple blind tastings and comparisons, we selected one from three choices – ultimately picking this washed Bourbon from the KOPAKAMA processing station.

In terms of acidity, this Rwandan coffee offers distinctive berry acidity, setting it apart from Ethiopia's citrus acidity and Kenya's berry acidity. It represents "another category" of distinctive African coffee expression.

In flavor, it presents concrete cherry and plum notes. Only high-grade beans from this region can achieve such flavor expression.

Furthermore, we were pleasantly surprised by this bean's exceptional cleanliness – excellent cleanliness also indicates that this bean received meticulous care during harvesting and processing.

Later, we learned that this bean was frequently a Rwanda COE TOP 10 contender, which explains its outstanding performance – it embodies the typical high-quality Rwandan specialty coffee: high sweetness, berry acidity, clean, full-bodied and smooth mouthfeel, juicy texture, with plum and cherry flavors.

The Powerful Story Behind the Coffee

When we learned about the story behind this bean, we were deeply moved. If you've heard of the Rwandan genocide, you'll understand how precious this Rwandan coffee truly is:

This bean comes from the KOMAKAMA washing station, which processes exclusively Red Bourbon varieties. These Red Bourbon beans are primarily harvested by cooperative members. This cooperative doesn't just grow coffee – they also help their members improve their living conditions.

For example, 180 widows who survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide formed a group under the cooperative to rebuild their coffee farms. Their earnings are also used to support members facing greater hardships. Today, this group has grown to include 302 women members.

Every year, we travel to coffee origins to source beans. Whether in Ethiopia or Yunnan, we consistently feel strongly that: in mature coffee-consuming countries, coffee might be daily routine, a feeling of happiness; in our country, coffee represents sophistication and status; but in the producing regions, coffee is blood and sweat, even blood and tears.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473