Following the warm reception of previous harvests from Rwanda’s Vunga Washing Station, this washed lot roasted by our friends at Quaffee is a welcome return. Typically, specialty coffee from this East African nation is of the Bourbon variety and is processed using the washed method. This process entirely removes the coffee cherry’s skin and fruit prior to drying. The washed method remains the favoured method in Rwanda and is known to promote clarity in the cup.

This coffee from the Vunga Washing Station was grown by smallholder farmers around Rwanda’s Nyabihu District. The region’s high altitudes and nutrient-rich soil provide ideal growing conditions for varieties such as Red Bourbon coffee. The farmers deliver their harvests to Vunga, which is operated under a woman-led cooperative that provides resources and education to its members. Vunga works closely with the Muraho Trading Company, which partners with coffee farmers to showcase quality Rwandan coffee on the global stage.

Quaffee’s Notes

“At Quaffee, we have experienced varying quality from Rwanda and have been very selective about the coffees we offer from the country. We have been convinced by Zuka’s experience to once again offer a Rwandan, hoping it will be the beginning of a new strong relationship.

“Rwanda Vunga is a washed Red Bourbon coffee with tasting notes of berry juice and white sugar, followed by a mild molasses finish.”

• Taste profile: Berry juice and white sugar, with a mild molasses finish
• Roast used: Flame throughout the roast until first crack, where the development is extended
• Roast degree: Light – using my-tonino.com
• Quaffee brews:
  • Aeropress: 17:200 g
  • Espresso: 1:2.1
  • Plunger: 50:800 g
  • Pour-over/Filter: 20:300 g

Coffee details from Quaffee

“The Vunga Cooperative is a specialty coffee cooperative located in the Nyabihu District of northwestern Rwanda, near the borders of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has become well known in the specialty coffee industry for producing high-quality washed Red Bourbon coffees and for its strong focus on women’s leadership and farmer development.

“One of the most notable aspects of Vunga is that it is led by Daphrose Uwimana, one of the few women in Rwanda to own and manage both a coffee cooperative and its washing station. She founded the cooperative in 2009 and has been instrumental in building a close-knit farming community and mentoring women coffee producers.”

• Country: Rwanda
• Region: Nyabihu District
• Farmers: Approximately 260 smallholder farmers
• Average farm size: 1 hectare
• Variety: Red Bourbon
• Altitude: 1,450–1,600 m ASL
• Processing: Fully washed
• Drying: Raised & covered beds
• Green coffee packaging: GrainPro in hessian

Quaffee’s transparency information

• Sourced from: Zuka Green
• Trade price: 3.86 USD / lb FOT; 3.96 USD / lb FOB
• Cupping score: 83.5
• Organisation: Muraho Trading Company
• Lot size bought: 60 kg and counting
• Relationship: Quaffee’s second coffee from Vunga