Red Bourbon varietal arabica, grown at 1800-2000masl, carefully hand-picked to harvest only the ripest cherries before being pulped, fully washed and dried. This is roasted to a medium-light degree. This coffee has high sweetness and acidity with tasting notes of orange, peach, plum and redcurrant

In January 2024, I visited Rwanda as part of the UK Rwanda Business Forum and I was massively impressed by what I saw there, so on my return I set about finding a great example of a classic Rwandan Red Bourbon coffee to share with you.

Working with a friend, Dave Burton from Omwani Coffee, I have sourced this excellent lot from the Rwamatamu washing station of Nyamasheke in the Western Province. This region provides a tropical highland climate with an average temperature of 14 to 24 c and regular rainfall. This makes arabica coffee flourish and results in a dense, hard bean.

Rwamatamu work to have a positive social and economic impact on farmer communities, focusing on women in particular. Mukantwaza Laetitia and Rutaganda Gaston have been in the coffee industry for over 13 years. They founded Rwamatamu in 2015 to contribute to the fight against poverty in rural communities through harvesting coffee, but at its heart, Rwamatamu Coffee Ltd is an entrepreneurial commercial business. It has 20 hectares of coffee plantation from where it harvests its own cherries but also purchases cherries from affiliate co-operatives and local producer families and smallholder farmers.

Coffee is harvested from farms between 1600 to 2000 metres above sea level, on rich volcanic soil. Picking season is between January and March. Once harvested, cherries are taken to Rwamatamu washing station for pulping, fermentation and is then fully washing with spring water. From here they are sun dried and hand sorted to eliminate any defects.

This classic Red Bourbon is crisp and juicy with tasting notes of orange, peach and plum.