Rwandan coffee and double fermentation
If you are reading this article it could be due to two reasons: you have already tried the Rwanda coffee or you have never done it and you are very curious. Be it any of these, allow us to emphasize that these are specialty grains, natural and that provide a balanced cup. Qualities that motivate more consumers to include it in their morning routine.
This delicious coffee has a little-known origin and with a lot of personality, you can perceive notes of dark chocolate, orange and cola. Other of its great virtues is that it is cultivated between 1,685 and 1,870 meters high, which gives greater quality to the drink.
With the help of our experts, in this post we will talk about its history, coffee production chain and its double fermentation. This is a processing process characteristic only in some African countries. We will also cover other interesting details.
Influential factors of coffee in Rwanda
In Rwanda there are three factors that play a fundamental role in the development of the coffee industry. The first of them is its terrain, since it is a country that is called the land of a thousand hills, thanks to its geography. This It does not mean that it is 100% mountainous, but also houses countless hills of around 1600 and 1800 meters above sea level. As we have said on other occasions, both this altitude and the tropical climate (being closer to the Equator) make it the perfect place to harvest quality Arabica variety coffees.
The second is based on the botanical variety. In Rwanda the main one we find is Red Bourbon, from the Arabica species, one of the best, which provides sweeter and fruitier beans, highly appreciated by consumers and experts.
Thirdly, the most characteristic and unpleasant one relates to the history of Rwanda. It turns out that in 1994, a genocide took place in which at least one million people belonging to a minority ethnic group were murdered. A fact that ultimately marked a before and after in this country. Today, 27 years later, it is admirable that the country's panorama has completely changed, where its inhabitants can live together and work together in different commercial areas. And coffee is one of them.
Each of these factors makes Rwanda a coffee-growing country with a lot of demand.
A double fermented coffee
In countries like Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda, the process of double fermentation.
The main purpose of fermentation is to facilitate the mucilage separates from the parchment. As you should already know, mucilage is the thickest layer of sugars that the cherry has. If the beans are left to dry in the sun with traces of sugar, they will ferment faster, in an uncontrolled manner and will provide unexpected flavors for that coffee.
But what is the objective of double fermentation? This ensures that when the coffee reaches the drying beds, it does not contain traces of sugar wrapping the parchment.
The benefiting process Typical in Rwanda begins with the washing process. That pulps the cherry right after picking it. Once pulped, it is left ferment dry for 48 hours. After this time, the coffee is washed in buckets that also separate by density and thus begin to classify by quality.
For example, light grains will float and denser, higher-quality grains will stay at the bottom. Then the second fermentation begins, this time wet, with water, for approximately 12 hours. The result is that with this double fermentation, there will be no remains of mucilage and consequently sugars before moving on to the drying phase.
Although double fermentation is the typical processing process in Rwanda, at the same washing station they are researching and testing other methodologies. For example, last harvest they took out Black Honey, which is a coffee that is left to dry in the sun with mucilage. For this type of processing, several parameters such as humidity and the amount of bricks or sugar must be controlled throughout the process. Experts say that these types of processes for medium roasts and filter coffee preparations are surprising.
What makes dealing directly with your coffee farmers so difficult?
In Incapto Coffee We are characterized by maintaining direct contact with producers. However, in the case of Rwanda it is somewhat difficult for a number of reasons.
To begin with, most coffee farmers have between half and one hectare, so there is not much coffee they can harvest per harvest. This means that some can only produce around 500kg of cherry per year. Simply put, it takes approximately 7kg of cherries to obtain 1kg of roasted coffee. It is discouraging, since with the entire annual production of an average Rwandan coffee farmer, you can obtain at most 2 bags of green coffee.
That is why coffee farmers have to group together in cooperatives to be able to sell their coffee to a washing station. They normally group coffee farmers who produce on the same hill, so that the flavor profile of the coffee is as homogeneous as possible and is processed together as batch “cells” and comprise between 60 and 70 coffee growers.
Once the coffee cherry arrives at the washing station, it begins to be processed and reclassified by gravity or density. The cherries are placed in a tank of water. The densest ones will sink and will be of B1 quality, while those that are not so heavy will be of B2 or B3 quality. As for the lightest ones (those that float) they are the B4. Incapto Coffee, through our source partner, Kilimanjaro, we only buy B1 quality.
In Rwanda, the maximum traceability we can have is the cell or community and in which washing station it has been processed. In this country, coffee is harvested between the months of April and June. Subsequently, it arrives at the end or beginning of the year in Europe.
This means that right now, the Rwanda coffee which is available in stock Incapto It is from the most recent harvest, the one collected between April and June 2020. From the Nyamasheke community processed by the Gishike washing station.
why Incapto Did you decide to include it among your varieties?
In addition to taking into account its exceptional quality, where its notes of orange and dark chocolate are perceived, we also consider the washing station. Because, this pays 35% more to coffee farmers for its cherry than other washing stations in Rwanda.
As a company we always try to make the treatment as direct as possible. Although sometimes, due to the characteristics of the country, there is a link in the chain in charge of processing, transporting and preparing the necessary documentation to be able to export.
For those who don't know, Rwanda does not have access to the sea, which means that logistics are somewhat more complicated because the coffee must cross some countries until it reaches the nearest port.
Benefits of buying Rwandan coffee in Incapto
For those of you who are on the fence about whether to add it to your shopping cart, there is something you should know. It turns out that when buying 1kg of Rwanda coffee, from the website of Incapto Coffee, they would be contributing to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation, dedicated to the conservation, protection and study of gorillas and their habitat in Africa, contributing 1%.
Diane Fossey was an American primatologist and conservationist known for conducting an extensive study of mountain gorillas from 1966 until their murder in 1985. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda and wrote an astonishing book "Gorillas in the fog". We totally recommend it to all animal lovers and people who want to know more about African culture.
Rwandan coffee Incapto Coffee is one of the most sought after varieties by lovers of the specialty world. As we have emphasized throughout the article, it provides a cup of exceptional quality, with notes ranging from dark chocolate to orange. If you have not tried it yet, we invite you to enter our stock, add it to your cart and within the next few days it will arrive at your door.
