What are the Flavors of Rwandan Coffee - Introduction to Rwandan Twumba Coffee Washing Station

Rwanda's Coffee Paradise

Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Rwanda has always been blessed with excellent coffee-growing conditions: high altitude, volcanic soil, and abundant sunshine. Because many coffee trees are planted on mountains between 1,700 and 2,000 meters above sea level, Rwanda is also known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills." Rwandan coffee offers a world-class experience — more balanced than Kenyan coffee yet clearly comparable to Central American coffee. In general, Rwandan coffee carries the fresh sweetness of fruit, the delicate fragrance of flowers, and a black tea-like aftertaste. Coffee production models usually depend on the producing country, but Rwandan coffee is produced entirely by smallholders rather than large enterprises. Compared with Brazilian farms, where even a small one can reach twenty hectares, Rwanda's 0.1-0.2 hectares are truly tiny.

Here, farmers first pick coffee cherries by hand from the trees, then send them to the processing tables where barefoot, singing farmers crush them together. These coffees are sweet, with clear lemon flavors, and they subtly reveal berry and chocolate notes.

For a developing country like this, when specialty coffee gains attention and demand rises, coffee naturally becomes one of the main directions for national development, as the country seeks steady progress and recognition from the international market.

After the beans are separated from the fruit, farmers use rakes and water to sort the beans, followed by sun-drying. Because coffee beans are sensitive to air humidity, whenever a breeze suddenly picks up, farmers promptly cover them with tarps.

Twumba Coffee Washing Station

The Twumba Coffee Washing Station is located in Nyaruyaga Village, Gitabura Cell, Twumba Sector, Karongi District, Western Province of Rwanda. The area is characterized by high mountains and very steep slopes that fall into valleys, adjacent to the Nyungwe National Forest. The altitude ranges from 1,800 to 2,200 meters above sea level, with an average annual temperature of 18°C that varies with altitude.

In 2014, when the owner of Twumba Coffee visited farmers in the region and saw the beautiful coffee cultivation there, he held brief meetings with farmers from the surrounding areas. He noticed that the region's coffee washing station was far from their farming activities. The CWS owner decided to establish a washing station to support these farming communities, mainly to make it easier to collect coffee collectively and to improve the farming system, then connect the farmers to markets — since without a washing station in the area there was no favorable market for the cherries.

The coffee varieties grown here are Arabica, processed with clean water from natural springs in the Nyungwe Forest and dried on raised drying tables under good conditions before being stored properly. Sometimes cherries from single farms with high production and quality potential are tracked and deliberately separated from the rest, then sold as micro-lots.

Women's Coffee

Because women are involved throughout the value chain, coffee processed in these regions is also known as "Women's Coffee." Of the coffee collected, 60% is provided by women; 50% of the farms are women-owned; and in CWS processing, 90% of the employees are women.

Women sort and grade coffee on the washing station premises.

As a member of the Women's Coffee Alliance and a partner of Twumba Coffee, Tropic Coffee Company's mission is to ensure women are empowered in coffee communities to achieve sustainable livelihoods and to recognize women's participation in the coffee value chain.

With Tropic Coffee Company's support, coffee quality is controlled from the farm level, and all farmers know that cherries are harvested when fully ripe (red) and, once they reach the washing station, sorted to ensure high-quality processed cherries.

After the washing station was established, the producers and farmers who supply cherries and/or work at the station have benefited greatly, with income contributing to their livelihoods, education, and insurance for their children. Their families and small businesses also support their farming.

Coffee Specifications

Grade: 1

Score: 90.53

Farm: TWUMBA Coffee

Farmer/Representative: YANDAGIYE Marthe

Altitude: 1,800-2,200m

Country: RWANDA

Year: 2018

Region: KARONGI

District: TWUMBA

Processing System: Washed

Variety: 100% Bourbon Arabica Coffee

TWUMBA COFFEE LOT: 1

Village: NYARUYAGA

Cell: GITABURA

Sector: TWUMBA Region

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing with water at 90-91°C for about two minutes. The cup shows flavors of cherry, grape, and lime.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but a diverse variety of beans, where you can find various famous and lesser-known coffees, along with online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Rwandan coffee's appeal is its balance: sweetness, gentle fruit, and a soft chocolate undertone without sharp acidity. Brazilian coffee shares much of that same friendly, approachable character, which makes it a comfortable next step. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado half-natural red Bourbon is a classic single origin from the well-known Cerrado region. Medium roasted, it brings creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut, with a round body, low acidity, and a light bitterness — and it works just as well in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press as it does as a pour-over.

If you want a bit more fruit and sweetness, the Brazil Queen Estate is worth trying. Grown in Mogiana on fertile red volcanic soil, it is a rare Yellow Bourbon — a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character — and it delivers sugarcane sweetness, fruit, and chocolate notes that most Brazilian coffees do not have. For espresso drinkers, several FrontStreet blends, including the Classic Blend, the Specialty Blend, and FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend, build on Brazilian beans to supply chocolate and cream aroma along with a soft, balanced sweet-tart-bitterness.