Rwanda Gasharu Wimana

Rwanda Gasharu Wimana

Mango | Honey | Grapefruit Juice

KEY DETAILS

Origin: Wimana, Nyamasheke‑Gatare district, Western Rwanda
Process: 72‑hour Anaerobic Natural (Cherry Fermentation)
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Altitude: 1,600 - 2,100m
Tasting Notes: Mango, Honey & Grapefruit Juice
Roast Profile: Light-Medium

THE COFFEE

Nestled on the shores of Lake Kivu, the Gasharu Washing Station collaborates with 1,075 smallholder farmers from nearby Nyangwe Forest, drawing upon Rwanda’s lush, primate-rich highlands  . Headed by Valentin Kamenyi, the station employs an innovative 72‑hour anaerobic fermentation of picked cherries in sealed tanks, followed by slow drying on raised beds for 30–40 days under careful hand-sorting and humidity control at 12%  .

The result is a vibrant, sweet cup bursting with juicy mango, silky honey, and bright grapefruit juice—with a clean, zesty acidity and a refined finish. Ideal for filter brewing, this coffee beautifully expresses the unique terroir and forward-thinking craftsmanship of Rwandan specialty coffee.

THE REGION

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.

THE PROCESS

Ripe cherries are carefully selected - first by hand and then by floatation. The cherries are then dried in the sun on raised African beds for 30-40 days depending on the weather. During this period the coffee is sorted by hand to remove any physcial defects and is regularly turned to ensure even drying and prevent over fermentation or mould formation. The coffee is covered during rain or midday sun to protect it from damage.

Every day quality controller tests the relative humidity until a value of 12% is reached, after which the coffee is bagged and stored in a cool, dry warehouse to rest pending secondary processing (hulling, grading, sorting etc.)

SPOTLIGHT LIMITED ROAST

Our spotlight, limited roast coffees are all ethically sourced from the best coffee farms and wash houses around the world. These small-batch or microlot coffees are from smaller harvests, which can not be farmed year-round. We find these rare and excellent coffees and lovingly hand roast them in small batches using our 5KG roasters, roasting daily to order for the freshest coffee possible. Due to their rareness and popularity, many of our spotlight coffees are restricted to 3 or 4 sacks only, meaning we're only able to roast 150-200KG of artisan coffee per release.

Interested in trying a selection of the best coffees in the world?

Our Roaster's Choice Coffee Subscription is an excellent way to taste a wide-range of the best tasting coffee the world has to offer, freshly roasted to order. Go on a coffee adventure with a freshly roasted bag of ethically sourced coffee on a subscription basis to suit you. Where available, we always include our spotlight limited roast within the Roaster's Choice Coffee Subscription, so you can be sure you're always getting the most exclusive speciality coffee.

Find out more about the Roaster's Choice Coffee Subscription