Thirty Two, Rwanda

Potential Cup of Excellence nominee

Rwanda hasn’t held a Cup of Excellence competition since 2014, but this year the competition returns and the quality of coffee from Rwanda has never been higher.  This particular coffee sourced from Falcon and its sister company, the Rwandan Trading Co. embarked on a project over the last 2 years to produce a range of naturally dried coffees at the Gatare washing station in the Western province of Nyamasheke.

The result is 5 equally awesome yet different lots of coffee, each with its own distinctive set of tasting notes.  Ours, number 0032 is the highest cupping lot (both independently by ourselves and the green coffee broker).

This helps to preserve those delicate tasting notes.

As good as the infamous Ato?

After our beauty of an Ethiopian ran out last month (then crying ourselves to sleep each night), we knew we needed to find a decent replacement whilst the world waits for the next harvest of Ethiopian coffees due in April-June.  We were spoilt when tasting this set of samples since they offered us the exact profile that made the Ato such a winner.

Better still, this particular batch comes in smaller sized vacuum packs, meaning that the flavours are even better preserved.  No moisture is lost during transit and warehousing, and almost no contact with the air means the coffee is as fresh as when it was at the farm.

Can you taste it?

We sought the tasting notes of the Ethiopian Ato — and we got it.  This has the strawberry, blueberry, creamy profile of the Ato, with slightly more clarity and less funk than its predecessor.  Its freshness also brings a lovely zing with it in acidity that comes through as citrus.  Gloopy on the tongue yet clean and buttery in the finish with no bitterness.  Perfect.

Our recommendation

Again with the Ato and most funky naturals from Africa, this is almost always better black on espresso or filter.  Our preference is the V60 with the paper filter (we use the natural filters, rinsed twice before use) to help bring the clarity in flavour that this coffee has.