Sweet and citric, with notes of blood orange, dried cranberries and apricots and panela. Flavours of dried fruit, clean body, well-integrated fresh acidity and a smooth Lotus biscuit finish.
Rwanda has ideal conditions for growing coffee such as a high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and a great abundance of the Bourbon variety. Most of Rwanda’s coffee is produced by small farmers, of whom there are believed to be around half a million with small farms that often do not exceed one hectare per family.
Coffee is grown in most of the country, with particularly large concentrations along Lake Kivu and in the south of the country. Small farmers in Rwanda organize themselves into cooperatives and share the services of centralized washing stations. Flowering takes place between September and October and harvest runs from March to July.
Gitwe is a newly built washing station, located in the Nyamasheke district. Built recently in 2016 and bought by RTC (Rwanda Trading Company) in 2018, the washing station employs 6 staff full time with the addition of 50 more people during the harvest season, of which 90% are women. Despite being a tiny station, 1020 farmers contribute to Gitwe’s annual production of 500 tons of cherry.
PROCESS
800 farmers in total deliver coffee to this station. Once the cherries are delivered, they are immediately pulped, fermented for 8 to 12 hours and then dried in the sun in raised beds for 10 to 15 days.
At the time of replicating the recipe, there are different variables that can interfere with the final result of the cup, such as the roast date, bean conservation, environment, water, machine condition, etc. It is important to remember that all these factors can have an influence and that you may have to make small adjustments to replicate this recipe.
Recipe
18 gr coffee
39 gr yield
28 seconds
Machine: La Marzocco Linea Classic
Grinder: Victoria Arduino, Mythos One
Water: Osmosis, 110 ppm
