February 2013’s pick

Rwanda Red Bourbon Arabica

As the mornings start to get a little bit brighter, we’re reaching for Rwanda Red Bourbon Arabica. This lively, fruity coffee will get you up and moving if nothing else will. It’s a regional standout from a relatively new growing cooperative in a country you probably don’t associate with coffee – but may soon.

Our experts’ thoughts on this month’s choice

Jim, 35 years in the coffee trade
“Rwanda coffees greatly impressed in the Cup of Excellence 2012, having in a very short time come from zero to hero! Rwanda coffee is a real phoenix rising from the ashes of a dreadful chapter in the country’s history. Impala High Washing Station, where this coffee is grown, serves a community of very small farms devoted to top quality coffee that can compete with the world’s best. I think that’s a great reflection of modern Rwanda.”

Geoff, 35 years in the coffee trade
“Most small farmers grow coffee as a cash crop and bananas to make matoke (green bananas steamed for a couple of hours in banana leaves.) They also use them to make wine and most of Rwanda’s banana production is used for this purpose. One of our tasters described the initial taste of this complex coffee as “like crème brulée” so why not try it with a glass of banana wine – commercially available, though you may have to search carefully.”

The Rwanda Coffee Story: Recovery, Resilience and Tiny Coffee Farms

For a long time, Rwanda was synonymous with war and genocide. But Rwanda is resilient. Today, nearly 20 years after the end of its darkest hours, it’s a stable, peace-loving country with the world’s ninth fastest growing economy.

Rwanda’seconomyisacuriousmixofnew and old. The country is a regional ICT star with a thriving technology infrastructure, but it’s also highly dependent on very traditional farming methods. Rather than relying on large agricultural companies, Rwanda depends on independent peasant farmers for 90% of its agricultural yield. Amazingly, many of these farmers cultivate just a single hectare of land – about the size of a football pitch.

Commercial coffee production in Rwanda has come a long way in the past 20 years. Before and during the conflict most farmers were focused on quantity, growing whatever they could to feed so many hungry mouths. But when coffee prices collapsed during the early 2000’s, many NGOs including the Bill and Melinda Gates Technoserve project ploughed investment into projects focused on elevating coffee quality to more sustainable and thus profitablelevels.

A New Player on the International Coffee Scene

Rwanda is now established in the International Cup of Excellence program with their winning coffees commanding high premiums. It’s early days, but this is a country to watch. The coffee you’re drinking was grown at the Impala High Washing Station cooperative in Western Rwanda, a relative newcomer which is now fully up and running from initial start in 2011.

The Bourbon Connection

Nearly all Arabica coffees can be traced back to one of two varietals: Bourbon and Typica. Bourbon coffee trees were so named not because of anyone’s favourite tipple, but because they were first cultivated in the 18th century on Bourbon Island, now called Reunion Island, off the coast of Madagascar.

Bourbon varietals get their colour (and name) from the coffee cherry.

This is a Red Bourbon, which is slightly hardier than the Yellow Bourbon, grown mostly in Brazil, and the Orange Bourbon. If you ever get a chance to compare a Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, you’ll notice a nutty or chocolate taste in the red variety in contrast to a brighter, sweeter taste with the yellow.

Tasting notes

This is a bright, exciting coffee if it won’t wake you up, we don’t know what will. It’s very sweet, so if you usually add sugar to yours, give this one a taste first. Rwanda Red Bourbon Arabica has a dry fragrance of cocoa and dried banana, but once you add water you’ll notice a wheat-like aroma, with a hint of chocolate and herbs. It’s not your usual scent, but we think it’s just gorgeous.

This coffee is full of bold flavours. After an initial hit of crème brulée, see if you can taste fruitier notes like grapefruit, blackcurrant, plums and Granny Smith apples. The mouthfeel is perhaps what we love best: soft and creamy, this coffee is perfectly easy to drink for hours on end. Try it in a cafetiere, drip or pour over style, or as a classic espresso.