Rwanda Vunga Coffee Washing Station
Rwanda Vunga Coffee Washing Station One roast.
Here it is. Our first washed coffee from Rwanda in 2021. I almost forgot the rather lovely Bishwaza natural. We will now have a rash of them over the coming weeks and months, which is very exciting!. The cup quality is on point and also I am just loving the bright, fresh acidity. If you had wondered, I have started buying coffee like Covid is a thing of the past. Let’s hope I am right.
Top Trumps:
Name: Vunga Coffee Washing Station
Producer Partner: Muraho Trading Company
Location: Nyabihu, Western Province Rwanda.
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Process: Fully Washed. 6 Hours in fermentation tanks, Dried on raised beds over a 35 day period.
The altitude of the farms: 1650 – 1800 masl
Roast: Medium Filter. We would primarily recommend this as a filter brew. The espresso is 👌 sparkling and if extracted well, this works in milk up to 9oz.
Cup Potential:
|Aromatics: Intensely fruity| Body: Light| Acidity: Wine gums|
This washed coffee from Vunga CWS is strikingly different from any of our Burundi coffees. If I could draw it, I would try and explain with a shape that most 3-year-olds could improve on aesthetically, so words it is. This coffee is a shy starter in the acidity department, although the promise of fruit is obvious aromatically. As the infusion develops the levels of fruit deepens. Possibilities of blackcurrant, pulpy soft apple acidity with a citric finish. The longer you sit with this coffee the sweeter it gets. This is such a refreshing change and almost a punctuation in the coffee calendar.
In V60 this has a more subtle acidity and softer, less brightness, although still completely delicious.
In espresso: This roast is incredible in espresso. As long as you have good burrs this should make some cracking juicy espresso. 28-35 seconds on a 1:2 ratio. (Think 17 -20g in 34-40g out)
About this lot:
This coffee has come via Raw Material, a not-for-profit company that reinvests all of its profits back into its and our coffee producers. Although Vunga is a well-known washing station, it is located in an area where there is not very much coffee produced. In the last decade, Vunga has featured highly in the internationally renowned “Cup of Excellence”. The system works by, co-operative members deliver their coffee to the CWS (Coffee Washing Station). The coffee cherry is then floated in water. Floaters are removed and the cherry is then pulped and washed in the new serpentine, funded through Muraho and Raw. Last year Raw paid a premium per kg of milled green coffee to Vunga, to assist with upgrades. This has gone towards increasing their dry coffee storage capacity, covers for raised drying beds, and new fermentation tanks.
