rwanda - natural process light roast

We taste notes of grapefruit, passion fruit, dried cherry, and hibiscus tea in this natural process coffee from the Rusizi district in the Western Province, Rwanda. Bridge City partnered with friends at Queen City Collective Coffee in Denver, CO and Daniel Mendoza with Cropster to offer you this spectacular natural process coffee from Rwanda. Our partners put in the work to connect with Gihanga, an organization that focuses on community-led specialty coffee production that benefits producers and the local environment. As an exporter, they connect their producers with the worldwide market, offering their coffees at affordable prices. Queen City is Gihanga’s North American buying partner. 

This coffee was processed by the Muhari CWS (Coffee Washing Station). The process of this coffee includes floating, grading, and hand-sorting cherries, then placing them on raised beds to sun-dry for 22 days. Beds are turned every few hours to ensure even drying. When done well, the natural process can impart spectacular fruit flavors. The benefit of this coffee being sun-dried for 22 days will allow for this coffee to retain good flavors for a longer period when it is stored in its’ raw state. 

In addition to the process helping to impart desirable fruitiness, the Bourbon variety is known for its sweetness. We noted that this is “Red” Bourbon because of the physical color of the cherry. Now, we think that having the Jackson variety in this Rwanda coffee is a great reason to purchase it because it just sounds awesome. The Jackson variety, a Bourbon variant, is widely found in Rwanda and Burundi but known to have been discovered by a farmer in India, Mr. Jackson, in the early 1900s. The seeds made their way to East Africa, then to Rwanda. 

Grown By: 450+ smallholders

District: Rusizi

Process: Natural

Variety: Red Bourbon, Jackson

Elevation: 1,450 – 1,900m

Roast Degree: Light

Yum! We Taste Notes Of: Grapefruit, Passion Fruit, Dried Cherry, and Hibiscus Tea