Rwanda Kivoga Bourbon

Rwanda Kivoga Bourbon

Rwanda Kivoga is a specialty coffee produced by the Abadatezuka Cooperative in the Nyamasheke district of Rwanda's Western Province. This Bourbon variety coffee grows between 1,850 and 2,200 metres and is processed with the washed method at the Cyato washing station. In Haimoo's roast profile the cup brings out currant, lime and brown sugar.

Kivoga is a microlot: a lot picked out from the washing station's larger day lots for the way it tastes. Its origin is known down to the cooperative and the washing station.

The Abadatezuka Cooperative and the Cyato washing station

Kivoga coffee is the joint work of many smallholders. They belong to the Abadatezuka cooperative in Rwanda's Western Province and take the cherries they pick to the Cyato washing station in the Nyamasheke district. The station, founded in 2017, stands in the Cyato sector.

Cyato receives coffee from six nearby areas: Kivoga, Kageyo, Rwumba, Rusumo, Gatare and Nsinduka. This lot is from Kivoga, and that is where the coffee gets its name.

The cooperative's farmers do without synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.

Where does Rwanda Kivoga grow?

The farms lie close to Lake Kivu and the Nyungwe forest. The washing station is at 1,850 metres, and the highest farms climb to 2,200 metres.

The lake cools the local climate, and the ground is fertile: black humus and sand. In the cool air at altitude the cherries ripen slowly and have time to build sweetness and a clear acidity.

Bees live in and around the Nyungwe forest and pollinate the coffee trees. They are said to play a part in the coffee's distinctive flavour.

The Bourbon variety

Bourbon belongs to the traditional Arabica varieties. The name comes from the island of Bourbon, today's Réunion, where coffee grown in Yemen, a natural mutation of Typica, was once taken.

In Rwanda, Bourbon is the foundation of coffee growing, and it is known for a sweet and clean cup.

Washed processing the Rwandan way

The Rwandan way of washing coffee has one step more than usual: a soak. The cherries arrive at the washing station on the day they are picked, and the skin and pulp are taken off. The beans are then left to ferment in open concrete tanks for 12 to 18 hours.

When fermentation is done, the coffee soaks in water for 24 hours. Only then is it lifted onto raised drying beds to dry.

Washed processing brings out the character of the variety and the growing place: the cup is clean and the acidity clear.

What does Rwanda Kivoga taste like?

Rwanda Kivoga is a bright and clean washed coffee. The clearest flavour notes in this lot are currant, lime and brown sugar.

First the berry character of currant rises from the cup. Alongside it comes the tart citrus acidity of lime, which makes the coffee fresh.

As the coffee cools, the sweetness comes forward soft and sugary, like brown sugar, and balances the acidity.

Kivoga suits those who enjoy fresh, berry-like and citrusy coffees.

How should you brew Rwanda Kivoga Bourbon?

The roaster recommends Rwanda Kivoga as filter coffee. It works just as well brewed by hand with a Hario V60 as in an ordinary coffee maker, and as filter coffee it shows the acidity of lime and the berry character of currant.

If you like an intense, light roast espresso, Rwanda Kivoga works excellently there too.