Gicogi
RWANDA
Our coffee was made out of peaberry beans of Bourbon arabica varietals selected from five different washing stations and processed with the natural, sundried method. Unlike the well-known flat-shaped ones, these rounder beans only develop in this form in 4-7% of cases. Given that the nutrients in the fruit are consumed by only one seed instead of two, peaberries are typically denser and harder than normal coffee beans, a difference that is reflected both in their roasting and in their unique flavours.
East African coffees are known for their excellence: just think of Rwanda’s neighbour Burundi or the nearby Kenya and Ethiopia. Three hundred processing stations operate in the country where most coffee farmers work on small, 1 hectare (2,5 acres) lots, growing barely 200 shrubs. As a single shrub yield about 1,7 kilos of cherries: this means that hundreds, if not thousands of farmers have to band together in order to make processing their harvest economically feasible. Rwandan coffee is characterized by a balanced complexity of flavours. The unique combination of sweet, floral and fruity notes is unlike anything else in the world of coffee.