New Single - Rwanda Remere Tuzamurane

It's like we're on safari this year. After our line up of Kenya and Ethiopia, we're excited to introduce our first Rwandan of the year!

This special micro-lot was produced by around 50 smallholder producers who farm coffee in the high hills surrounding Remera washing station.

THE REGION

The farmers who make up the Tuzamurane group come from a nearby village called Rukamiro. Recently they banded together and made the decision to process and market their coffees separately as a smaller, more selected lot to share resources, labour and result in higher income through increased quality.

The coffee was hand picked and then dry-fermented for 8-12 hours. After soaking they were dried on raised African drying beds for around 10-20 days, carefully rotated by the team. Edouine Mugisha from Buf Coffee, who own of the washing station and dry mill, oversea the final process under a watchful eye, ensuring the highest quality and maximum flavour!

ABOUT REMERA WASHING STATION

• The ripe cherries are picked by hand and then delivered to the washing station either on foot, by bike, or by trucks that pick up cherries from various pick-up points in the area.
• Before being pulped, the cherries are deposited into flotation tanks, where a net is used to skim off the floaters (less dense, lower grade cherries). The heavier cherries are then pulped the same day using a mechanical pulper that divides the beans into three grades by weight.
• The beans (in parchment) are then dry-fermented (in a tank with no added water) overnight for 8–12 hours. They are then sorted again using grading channels; water is sent through the channels and the lighter (i.e. lower grade) beans are washed to the bottom, while the heavier cherries remain at the top of the channel.
• The wet parchment is then soaked in water for around 24 hours, before being moved to pre-drying beds where they are intensively sorted for around six hours. This step is always done while the beans are still damp because the green (unripe) beans are easier to see. It is also always done in the shade to protect the beans from direct sunlight (which they have found helps to keep the parchment intact and therefore protects the bean better).
• The sorted beans are finally moved onto raised African drying beds in the direct sun to dry slowly over 10–20 days. During this time the coffee is sorted carefully for defects and turned regularly to ensure the coffee dries evenly. It is also covered in the middle of the day when the sun is at its hottest.

• Once at 11–12% humidity, the coffee (still in its parchment) is stored in the washing station’s warehouse in carefully labelled lots until it is ready for export. The coffee is then sent to Buf’s dry mill, Ubumwe (built 2017), to be dry-milled. Here the parchment is removed, and the beans are sorted again by hand and using machinery to remove any physical defects. This is done under the watchful eye of Edouine Mugisha, who has worked with Buf since 2011. Having control over the milling of the coffee means that Buf has greater control over the quality of sorting and processing from cherry delivery right through to export.

If you like a rich, sweet and balanced coffee, you'll love this. We get flavours of buttery grilled peach and pear, with a balanced and lingering finish. In milk, you'll find more of the stonefruit, a touch of orange and a sweet finish. Enjoy!