Rwanda Nyakarenzo Bourbon Washed

Nyakarenzo washing station lies in the Rusizi district, Rwanda’s most southwestern region. The region has a shoreline along Lake Kivu. The washing station lies close to the Cyamudongo natural highland forest. Average elevation in the region is 1924 m.a.s.l.. Yet, the washing station lies a lot lower than the farms that produce its coffee. This makes it easier for the producers to carry their coffee cherries down after the day’s harvest. Placing the station down the hill also facilitates the water supply to the station from the nearby river network.

Since the drying capacity of Nyakarenzo is very limited and the conditions are not suitable to produce volume, Nyakarenzo naturally took the course of specialty production. The capacity of the station is smaller, so the quality of the total production is easier to control.

To start with, the washing station puts great focus on cherry selection starting at the intake point. The manager that oversees the cherry reception strictly controls which cherries are accepted for processing. He checks the quality through flotation because not all quality issues are visible. Next, he submits every batch of cherries to a visual inspection to detect insect damage or other unwanted elements. The washed process follows the classic method for processing. Afterwards, the coffee passes through the washing and grading channel. This process separates the batch in 5 different parchment grades. Only the heaviest beans are selected for the microlot production. Finally the beans are slowly sun-dried and hand sorted many times to perfection by women.

In the cup the coffee has a huge mouth feel, with great arome, carmel and citrus and medium acidity. It has a nice after taste, sweet and clean. Stable consistent and harmony balance with uniformity in cups and richness overall.