Rwanda Rusizi Mushaka

The grinds let off fresh, sweet smells, like when cracking a bag of brown sugar, with complex spices like cardamom and nutmeg. The wet showed caramel-sweet notes at a wide roast range (it reminded us of the Sees brand suckers), with cinnamon tea, and a hint of raisin. In the brewed coffee, the cup sweetness was complex, with layers of light brown sugars, like demerara and sucanat, and a burnt sugar aspect in the aftertaste. As you move through the cup, notes of tart apple, English Breakfast tea, and candied citrus accent the cup sweetness. We found roasts in the middle ranges to have very nice bittersweet tones that lead to accents of rooty tea, like ginseng, sarsaparilla herbal notes, and black tea pungency in the finish. Lemony effervescence comes through in this context, mingling with an aroma that's both spiced and herbaceous. I found the spice elements carried over into my Full City roast as well, yielding flavor profiles of Oaxacan spiced cocoa, and a hint of vanilla in the finish.