This coffee is bright and has a juicy acidity reminiscent of clementines. It also has a well-integrated sweetness, with hints of caramel. The body is light to medium, silky, and balanced.
It has a clean, long finish, with echoes of cocoa nibs and soft spices.
If you drink it alone, the fruity juiciness will be accentuated, and if you drink it with milk, the caramel sweetness will become more present.
HISTORY
Kilimbi is one of the first two car wash stations to receive approval fromNAEBto produce natural and honey processed coffee in Rwanda. Kilimbi's altitude is ideal for producing exceptional washed, honey, and natural coffees. The drying beds extend across a large open plain, where airflow and sunlight provide maximum exposure to the coffee as it dries. Built in 2016, this washing station is the birthplace of Muraho Trading Company, its first washing station.
A peculiarity of Kilimbi is that it is only accessible by boat, and farmers cross Lake Kivu to deliver their farms' harvests. Its estimated annual production is approximately 33,300 kg of ground green coffee, processed each harvest into volumes of natural, washed, and honey coffees.
Muraho Trading Co.It helps member cooperatives improve the quality of their production, obtain a higher price for their coffee, and access new markets. This will be an ongoing effort over the coming years, as we gain a better understanding of the specific challenges faced by coffee producers in Rwanda.
Through this process, a model is developed that creates incentives to achieve producer engagement while maximizing impact.
VARIETY AND PROCESS
All cherries are sorted manually before a flotation process prior to pulping, removing unripe or damaged cherries, along with any foreign objects.
The cherries are then floated in pre-pulping tanks to remove floating cherries and subsequently pulped. The coffee is then fermented in fermentation tanks for an average of 12 hours. During this time, the fermented parchment is stirred several times a day through a ceremonial foot-stomping ritual.
After fermentation, the coffee is released into a large grading trough. During the washing process, the parchment is continuously agitated to float the lower-density parchment and remove any adhering mucilage. Once the parchment is graded, a final rinse is performed after washing. At this point, the coffee is taken to a pre-drying area, where the parchment is manually graded, removing any insect-damaged, discolored, or broken beans. The parchment is spread out to dry and turned regularly throughout the day for 30 days.
The varietal of this coffee isred bourbon.
HeBourbonIt is an ancient variety, originating from the island of Bourbon (present-day Reunion) and derived from the Arabica coffee plants that arrived from Yemen in the 18th century.
Red BourbonIt is a specific subvariety characterized by producing red cherries when ripe. It has been widely cultivated in Rwanda, where the climate and volcanic soils maximize its potential. It represents a standard of quality and tradition in the region.
RECIPE
For filter:
We use 18 grams of ground coffee and 290 grams of water at 93°C, in a total time of 2'30". We make three pours:
Pouring 50g of water in 30"
Pouring up to 185 gr of water in 1'10-1'30"
Pouring up to 290 gr of water up to 2'30"
EXPERIMENTATION VARIABLES
Rest: 2 weeks (15-20 days)
Method: V60Mill: EK43
Water: Pentair Everpure 70ppm
For espresso:
Uses 17 grams of dry coffee to extract 43 grams of total beverage into the cup in 27 to 30 seconds.
