Rwanda - Bwishaza Carbonic Maceration Natural
Varietal – Red Bourbon
Preparation – Carbonic Maceration Natural
Location – North of Kibuye
Altitude – 1600+ masl
Importer - Horsham Coffee Roaster
This is a special preparation limited edition micro-lot produced using a technique known as carbonic maceration. The full process is detailed below and has created a coffee with incredible fruit flavours.
Our Rwanda natural coffee has been directly traded with producers and we are able to offer full transparency and detailed information on these coffees. For more information on how we source coffees take a look at our Transparency Report.
We first visited Rwanda in 2014 and over the last few years we've developed some very close relationships within the Rwandan coffee community. We first visited Bwishaza co-operative in 2015 and have been buying coffee from them every year since our first visit.
Harvesting and Processing:
Bwishaza washing station is co-operative owned works with around 500 small-hold farmers. Most of these producers have just a few hundred trees and will harvest coffee every few days during the season which runs from March to June. During the harvest, we asked Bwishaza if they would be able to produce some experimental micro lots using techniques we learned during our visit to Costa Rica and when taking the SCA processing course. We sent them a detailed PDF explaining the process below:
1) Harvest only very ripe cherry with careful sorting as seen in the image below:
2) Use flotation to remove defects and to wash the cherry
3) Place cherry into sacks and seal so that no air can get into the sacks
4) Store in a cool shady place for 48 hours
5) Remove the coffee from the sacks and dry it on tables in a thin layer for two days. Dry the cherry quickly for the first few days
6) Continue drying the coffee on tables but in a thicker layer like the picture below:
Once dried the coffee is rested in sacks in a cool storage room for several weeks before being transported to the dry mill for processing to remove the cherry and parchment and prepare the coffee for export. This process has created some incredible flavours and we are very happy with the results.
A lot of additional work went into creating this unique coffee and Bwishaza co-operative was paid a significant premium for this coffee. The global coffee C-price is very high at the moment at around $2.42/lb but we paid $4/lb to Bwishaza for this incredible coffee. You can read more about this in our
transparency report.
Tasting Notes:
This is a stunning coffee with complex juicy fruit notes and wonderful acidity. The carbonic maceration process has intensified the fruit notes making this one of the most impressive coffees we've ever had from Rwanda. Tasting notes include blackcurrant, strawberry, caramel and a rich, silky body.
Brewing:
This coffee works well for all brew methods.
Filter: Dose 15g, water 250g.
Espresso: Dose 17 gram to 40 gram yield over about 30 seconds.
This coffee is available as wholebean and pre ground but we recommend always grinding fresh before brewing. We sell a range of grinders if you would like to grind this coffee fresh at home.
