The Community - Karora Rwanda

CUPPING NOTES: Pitted Prunes, Milk Tea, Starfruit, Brown Sugar, Dried Red Dates
VARIETAL: Red Bourbon
ORIGIN: Karongi, Rwanda
WASHING STATION: Karora Washing Station
PRODUCER: Francine Nyiramana & Immaculée Mukamana (Karora Washing Station)
HARVEST: June 2022
PROCESSING: Dried on Raised Beds for 3-4 weeks
WEIGHT: 200g

Rwanda is an origin that captivated us. Producers almost singularly grow the same cultivar, Red Bourbon yet across different regions the wavelength of flavours & textures are incredibly varied. Despite its troubled past as well as an unfortunate association with the "potato defect" the origin as a whole has grown from strength to strength, producing beautiful coffees as a parallel to more well known African origins like Ethiopia & Kenya. 

Our "EXPERIMENTAL" coffee this month is the fruit of our new relationship with Latanier Co, a company that's focused on sourcing coffees from Rwanda. This coffee comes from the Karongi region of Rwanda, where sisters Francine & Immaculee founded Nyamurinda Coffee Growers. The workforce for Nyamurinda is dominated by women which is quite common in Rwanda. Through this empowerment, the company has become a great vehicle for social sustainability in that region. 

Francine & Immaculee own 2 washing stations. This lot comes from Karora where smallholder farmers live & grow coffees on the cusp of the natural forestry of Nyungwe National Park. Ripe cherries are meticulously floated and hand sorted before being laid on thin layers on raised beds for 3 to 4 weeks. 

Karora has only started producing natural processed coffees, yet we find the flavour profile to be notably distinct & expressive with notes of Dried Prunes in the Acidity, Sugary Sweetness, Juicy Mouthfeel and Lingering Sweet Finish.

We're definitely looking forward to the progress over the next few years as they continue to refine their processes!