Rwanda Umurage Washed Red Bourbon - Buf Cafe

Peach, white nectarine, pomelo, lemon cake
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2019/20
Status Spot
Lot Number P605061-1
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About This Coffee

This is a Red Bourbon coffee from Buf Cafe's Umurage washing station located in the Huye Dsitrict, of the Kigmoa sector in the south of Rwanda, sitting at 1,750 masl. Umurage is Buf Cafés third washing station. Founded in 2003 by Epiphanie Mukashyaka, Buf Café seeks to grow the specialty Rwandan coffee sector with a focus on quality. It is estimated that Umurage has 412 registered coffee farmers. Buf Cafe provides lots of jobs for the community, and train farmers in good agricultural practices to improve quality with a focus on sustainability. 

History of Coffee in Rwanda  

The commercialization of coffee came about gradually in Rwanda and coffee was always produced on smallholder farms. Independence brought some improvement to the coffee infrastructure as the government established more modern and centralizing processing. But this meant the government set the price they would pay for coffee and farmers had no other options. There was no focus on quality because there was no incentive whatsoever. Despite much of the coffee being Bourbon, there was no sorting or grading so all the coffee was commercial grade. Rwanda exported 642,000 bags of coffee in 1993 and 447,000 in 1994.Then, as something of a stark reminder of the genocide, Rwanda exported a mere 22,000 bags in 1995. Today, Rwanda exports only 43% of what it did in 1993, but current exports represent much greater value because for the last 20 years the focus has been on quality rather than quantity. Rwanda’s ideal growing conditions are no longer wasted on poor processing. New washing stations have opened in all coffee growing regions, innovative cupping labs that arrive built into shipping containers, and cooperatives have been established. For the last 10 years, Rwandan specialty coffees consistently rank among the finest in the world. 

 Growing Coffee in Rwanda 

Cherries are hand-picked when fully ripe and then pulped that same evening using a mechanical pulper that divides the beans into three grades by weight. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight (for around 12-18 hours) and then graded again using flotation channels that sort the coffee by weight (the heaviest – or A1 – usually being the best). The wet parchment is then soaked in water for around 24 hours to stabilize moisture content. 

 

  • Cup Score 86.25
  • Region Huye District
  • Farm Name Umurage
  • Producer Type Washing Station
  • Processing Washed
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Red Bourbon
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot No
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade RWA CA FW SC 15+
  • CTRM Contract Number P605061-1
  • Country of Origin Rwanda
  • Warehouse The Annex

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