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Useful Links: • Definitions of terms and numbers • Roast Pictorial Guide • Flavor Quality Analysis graphs |
Check out Bikes to Rwanda website, a great program. Sweet Maria's just donated funds for 25 cargo bikes to be shipped to coffee farmers through this program. |
Rwandan coffee was rarely seen in the United States as either a Specialty grade or a low-end commercial coffee. There simply was not that much coffee produced in Rwanda, and political unrest in East Africa has hindered the production of good exportable coffee. It is believed that coffee was introduced in Rwanda in 1904 by German missionaries. Around 1930, a considerable interest in coffee developed as it was the sole revenues generating commodity for rural families. Up to now, coffee has played a considerable role in the socio-economic development of the country, despite the collapse of world coffee prices at the international market.
Then there was the genocide in the 90s, one of the most horrendous occurrences in modern history. It makes me dizzy just imagining how a country recovers, how people go back to a "normal" life after the tragedy of monumental scale. But the recovery in Rwanda has occurred with an unflinching openness to the genocide. (A personal thought: I think much of the world stood by because awareness of Rwanda was low, and self-interest in Rwanda was low. What did Rwanda produce and export that the world cared about? Clinton said so much at the time, and in retrospect regretted it as did other world leaders on whose watch the massacre happened. I feel that interest in Rwanda, awareness of their products and the people, would make another tragedy difficult to ignore...) Traditionally the high grade export lots went to Europe. The coffee has historically been transported across Uganda to Mombasa, Kenya for shipment to Europe, a trip that has not always been possible in the past decade with great civil unrest. The result is that the coffee cannot reach market, so the price and the incentive to produce top-grade coffee has diminished greatly for the village coffee farmer. That's why it comes as a very pleasant surprise to receive an excellent Rwandan coffee from small-holder village coffee farms and small estates. The fact that rural people can tend their crops and get export prices for them is a good sign for Rwanda, and for us ... because this is an origin with great potential. Historically, Rwanda has been the 9th largest producer of arabica in Africa, with 500,000 small farms averaging less than 1 hectare each. Coffee is grown in the western part of the country and in the central area near the capital of Kigali. The eastern part of Rwanda, over 1/7th of the country, is set aside as a national park and there is no coffee production permitted. Some general statistics: Coffee is grown
by small scale coffee farmers estimated at 400.000 in number, with
an average of 165 coffee trees per farmer; |
Our Rwanda Coffee Offerings: Please refer to our Reference Page for definitions of terms and cupping numbers used below.
| Rwanda Duhingekawa Women's Cooperative (Fair Trade Certified) | |||||||
| Country: | Rwanda | Grade: | A1 | Region: | Abakundakawa, Rushashi Washing Station | Mark: | Abakundakawa Cooperative, Women's subgroup Duhingekawa, Fair Trade. |
| Processing: | Wet-Processed | Crop: | May 2008 Arrival | Appearance: | .4 d/300gr, 16-17 Screen | Varietal: | 100% Bourbon Arabica BM 139 |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3.5 | Notes: Abakundakawa is a 1700 member cooperative that mills its coffee at the Rushashi washing station. The average altitude here is 1600 to 1800 meters for coffee production, the varietal is traditional Bourbon seedstock, and the typical wet process method is used, with sun-drying on raised beds or patio. This is fair trade certified, part of the USAID project in Rwanda to improve the quality of life ... but it is also a special micro-lot separated from the bulk production of the Abakundakawa coop. This is produced exclusively by a women's group, Duhingekawa, a 70 member sub-group of the coop, and we have paid a premium for this particular lot that is returned directly to the women producers. I made a separate Duhingekawa page with additional photos and information about this group, since it is a bit too much to put here. I cupped it against various A1 and A2 lots from other nearby coop lots, and found a very distinct, beautiful character in this coffee. The fragrance here has soft floral notes and (a theme throughout the cup) a sweet citrus note. The aroamtic is where the coffee comes to life; a bouquet of orange blossom, slightly winey. The cup fulfills the promise of the aromatics: jasmine and citrus flowers, sweetness, vivid aftertaste, and a remarkaby silky body (although not that heavy). This is still somewhat of a delicate cup, and really requires the right roast to reveal it's true character. My lighter City roasts were baked-tasting, under-developed. It was better with a few days rest, but it never had a very "complete" profile. The sweetness has a sweet brown malt flavor, caramelly, and lingers through the long aftertaste. This is not a "powerhouse cup", but roasted and brewed correctly, it is remarkably attractive, with Yirgacheffe and Kenya hints. | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 3.6 | ||||||
| Brightness - Acidity (1-10) | 8.7 | ||||||
| Flavor - Depth (1-10) | 8.7 | ||||||
| Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) | 3.4 | ||||||
| Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) | 8.6 | ||||||
| Cupper's Correction (1-5) | 0 | Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity / Balance and depth | ![]() |
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| add 50 | 50 | Roast: City+, Full City: this coffee was under-developed in flavor at City roast, and loses sweetness if roasted into 2nd crack too much. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 86.5 | Compare to: East African brightness, mildly Kenya-like in cup character, excellent aftertaste | |||||
| Rwanda
FT Duhingekawa Women's Cooperative |
$5.80 |
$11.02 |
$25.23 |
$48.14 |
$89.32 |
| $5.20 |
$9.88 |
$22.62 |
$43.16 |
$80.08 |
Tom's Sample Cupping Log | Moisture Content Readings This page is authored
by Thompson Owen and Sweet Maria's Coffee, Inc. and is not to be
copied or reproduced without permission
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