What are Rwandan Coffee Processing Methods? Introduction to Rwanda's Kinazi Coffee Processing Plant

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Rwanda Coffee Processing Methods

In the past, every farm processed its coffee differently, and beans from individual farms were collected together and mixed with those from neighboring farms.

After the genocide, the country began to open up to foreign aid, and reviving the coffee industry became a national priority. As a result, projects such as PEARL and SPREAD emerged, providing farmers with standardized training and building washing stations suited to traditional East African coffee processing methods. Burundi is one of the countries that adopted this approach and has carried it out exceptionally well.

Another noteworthy point is Africa's distinctive fully washed method, which involves soaking the coffee beans twice, a practice uncommon in Latin America.

What deserves the most praise about Rwandan coffee is that after the cherries are harvested, farmers first sort out the unripe green cherries. The mature cherries are then separated in washing tanks, and only the red cherries are sent to the depulping machine. Depending on the weather at the time, cherries with remaining pulp are fermented for 24-48 hours; the purpose of fermentation is to avoid damaging the coffee's flavor. The clean parchment coffee is then sent for drying. All of it is dried on raised beds for 15-22 days, until the moisture content reaches approximately 11%. When the weather is excessively hot, farmers must cover the beds with cloth, otherwise the drying process will finish too soon.

The best Rwandan beans should have a white surface, and if drying is completed at the right time, the beans should show no cracks. This preserves more organic compounds, resulting in better flavor and a longer shelf life.

Rwandan beans grown at high altitude and processed with the fully washed method are generally sweet and full-bodied.

Most Rwandan coffee is Bourbon or a Bourbon derivative.

Kinazi Coffee Washing Station

The Kinazi and Simbi coffee washing stations are privately owned and operated by Abdul Rudahunga of EdbI COFFEE INVESTMENT Ltd, who was inspired by his grandmother's entry into the coffee business. She too was a coffee farmer, and one of the few rural Rwandans in the trade.

The Kinazi Coffee Washing Station began operations in 2016. 2018 marked Kinazi's second season of operation, in which it achieved a score of 87.65 and 13th place in the Cup of Excellence, winning 28 awards among 150 national competitors.

The facility has a processing capacity of 350 tons of cherries per season and a depulping machine with a capacity of 2.8 tons per hour. After freshly delivered cherries are pulped, the coffee undergoes wet fermentation, and the beans are then sorted by density using water-filled grading channels. The wet parchment is dried under cover for 24 hours, then moved to uncovered drying beds for an average of 15 days.

Throughout this period, the coffee is continuously sorted by a group of colorfully dressed women who meticulously remove defective beans. Kinazi Coffee has also begun cultivating coffee in nurseries to help farmers motivated to grow coffee; these coffee trees are distributed free of charge.

The Kinazi Coffee Washing Station uses wet fermentation and employs water-filled grading channels for density sorting. It then transports the wet parchment for 24 hours of covered drying, after which the parchment is moved to uncovered drying beds for an average of 15 days.

Coffee Specifications

Altitude: 1615 meters
Coffee cultivation altitude: 1615-1750 m
Region: Huye
Sector: Kinazi
Cell: Kabona
Status: Private
Coffee variety: Arabica Bourbon
Average soil pH: 5.1
Rainfall range: 1100 to 1200 mm
Temperature range: 17-27 degrees Celsius
CWS owner: Simbi Coffee Investment Ltd
Processing capacity: 350 tons of cherries
Fermentation method: Wet fermentation
Drying tables: 65 tables, fully sun-dried
Storage: A warehouse with a natural ventilation system and wooden pallets
Road access: Good
Water source: Mountain natural springs
Energy: Generator and solar power
Environmental protection measures: Natural seepage

How to Roast Rwandan Coffee

Because Rwandan coffee is grown at high altitude, its density is high. When roasting African specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee applies significant heat. Hard beans like these transfer heat well, so higher drop temperatures and greater heating rates are preferable.

Rwandan coffee also has excellent body, so you can try extending the flavor development time and the first crack period to emphasize that body. A light roast gives Rwandan coffee pleasant acidity, but do not be afraid to build a more syrup-like body and mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing Rwandan coffee with water at 89-91°C. It has a "grass-like aroma" characteristic of tropical climates. Beyond the fruity sweetness this coffee presents, it also delivers refreshing, bright, and fresh sensations. The Bourbon coffee grown in Rwanda is remarkable for its fruity sweetness, with a rich, full fragrance, absolutely no astringency, and a long-lasting aftertaste. This coffee has a delicious, citrus-like sweetness with a deep chocolate color, featuring red apple, cherry, cinnamon, and honey notes, with high-quality sweetness and balance, and a finish of cinnamon, almond, and chocolate.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Fully washed coffee like Rwanda's is prized for the way it keeps the bean's own aroma intact while adding a bright, clean acidity, and FrontStreet Coffee roasts several washed lots that show this style at its best. FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gotingding Cooperative comes from Gotingding village, where local farms deliver their small harvests to a shared processing team. The washed processing brings out jasmine florals and a bright citrus acidity to the fullest; after a medium-light roast the cup shows green tea and honey notes, and it works beautifully as a pour-over, a cold brew, or an espresso.

If you want the technique in its most famous form, try FrontStreet Kenya Little Tomato. Kenya excels at double washed processing, repeating the washing step and soaking the beans in water to wash away the mucilage left on the surface before drying and hulling. The repeated rinsing and soaking delivers an extreme juice-like quality, with notes of cherry tomato, dark plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, sweet-and-sour and full of juice.

For a fuller, more classic cup, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 shows what careful washed processing can do: Jamaica's island climate has shorter sunshine hours, so removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying shortens the drying time and yields bright, low-defect beans. The result is an aromatic coffee with the pure notes of hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel, balanced so that no single flavor dominates or falls short.