Rwanda Western Province | Mushonyi Processing Station & Coko Washing Station Collaborative Lot | Natural Process Bourbon

Rwanda Western Province | Mashesha Processing Station & Mushonyi Processing Station Collaborative Batch | Natural Process Bourbon Flavor

Rwanda is a rapidly developing specialty coffee producing country in East Africa, with quality improving at an impressive pace. This batch of beans is selected from the Mushonyi route in the Rutsiro production area, located north of Nyamasheke, along the shores of Lake Kivu.

Exceptional geography, high altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and an excellent climate combine to create superior coffee. The Mushonyi processing station has only 832 members, each smallholder cultivating approximately 253 coffee trees. The coffee grows primarily at an altitude of 1800 meters. Although the Mushonyi station is not large, it plays an important local role: the surrounding geography is highly suited to coffee, with high altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and an excellent climate all contributing to high-quality coffee. It earned recognition with excellent results at the Cup of Excellence (CoE) in both 2010 and 2011.

Notably, Mushonyi was once certified as an organic natural farming coffee processing station by international organizations. To produce high-quality, abundant beans, the station encourages smallholders in various ways, training farmers in soil erosion control and pest and disease prevention and helping them understand the use of fertilizers and pesticides along with their impact on coffee crops, environmental protection, and health and safety. All of this helps farmers clearly grasp the concepts of sustainable coffee cultivation. Rwanda has the highest population density of any African country. Since its first coffee export in 1917, this small East African nation now has nearly 450,000 coffee farmers. Each farmer typically tends 150-300 coffee trees on plots that are not large, often less than 1 hectare. Internationally they would be classified as micro-farmers, followed by smallholders. Since micro-farmers cannot afford their own processing stations, Rwandan farmers deliver their cherries straight to regional central washing stations for processing after harvest.

This batch is primarily "collaboratively processed" by the Mashesha Processing Station (Mashesha CWS) and the Mushonyi Processing Station (Mushonyi CWS), both in Shangugu City, Western Province, Rwanda.

Coffee Details

Country: Rwanda

Region: West Province

Processing Stations: Mashesha CWS, Mushonyi CWS

Altitude: 1800m

Variety: Bourbon

Processing Method: Natural

Flavor Description: Fresh grass aroma, orange zest chocolate, orange juice, citrus, melon, toffee, vanilla syrup, grapefruit and citrus peel with a bittersweet aftertaste.

Award Records

2010 CoE Champion

2011 CoE Champion, 12th place, 16th place, 28th place

2015 CoE 15th place

Flavor Profile

The dry aroma presents wine notes, passion fruit, strawberry, peach, floral notes, blueberry, and perfume-like aromas. On tasting, one finds wine notes, passion fruit, peach, berries, blueberry, and lychee. The aftertaste carries rose notes, accompanied by the sweetness and acidity of fully ripe citrus. The overall flavor is robust and sweet.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, with 15g of coffee. First pour 25g of water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Total extraction time around 2:00.

Analysis: A three-stage brewing method clearly distinguishes the flavors of the front, middle, and back of the extraction. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing during the pour helps extend extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For a naturally processed cup with this kind of rich, fruit-forward sweetness, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry is a strong match. It is a Yirgacheffe coffee made from fully ripe whole red cherries: only fully mature fruit with no defects is accepted, given a first screening at the processing station, then spread out to dry on raised beds. During the first few days the cherries are turned once every 2-3 hours to prevent uneven heat and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of sun-drying, workers strip away the outer pulp depending on weather and temperature, and the beans are moved into storage. Because the fruit dries with the pulp attached, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit from natural processing, showing citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice quality, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

FrontStreet Flower Champion is another naturally processed standout, the variety behind the 2017 Taste of Harvest winner from Hambella in Sidamo, a coffee that stood out for its rich strawberry and cream aroma. Typically carrying floral notes, berries, citrus, the sweet-and-sour sensation of oranges, mango juice, honey, and a sweet black tea aftertaste, it shares the clean, fruit-driven style that makes natural Rwandan lots so appealing.

For a different origin with the same balanced, sweet character, FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate is worth trying. Grown in Brazil, the estate deliberately dries whole coffee cherries on drying racks, turning them continuously so every cherry meets the sun, then finishes with mechanical drying to reach the right moisture content. The result is a stable, long-keeping bean that drinks sweet and clean with sugarcane juice freshness, black tea, gentle fruit sweetness, clear nutty notes, balanced soft acidity, and a clean, low-bitterness finish with rich chocolate aroma.

For pour-over, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a V60 dripper, 90-91°C water, 15g of coffee, and a 1:15 ratio, ground to an EK43s setting of 10 (fine sugar size, with 80% passing a No. 20 sieve). Pour 30g for a 30-second bloom, add 95g (about 125g on the scale) over roughly one minute, then pour the remaining 100g (about 225g on the scale) once the water drops to about two-thirds of the bed. Drawdown completes at 2:00-2:10.