Horsham Coffee Roaster: Rwanda, Bwishaza, Dry Fermentation, Washed

For every kilo of Rwandan coffee sold we will ensure a tree is planted in the Gishwati-Mukura forest in Rwanda.

We first visited Rwanda in 2014 and over the last few years we've developed some very close relationships within the Rwandan coffee community. We first visited Bwishaza co-operative in 2015 and have been buying coffee from them every year.

Bwishaza co-operative is located north of Kibuye close to lake Kivu. The co-operative traditionally focused on producing speciality washed coffees in lot sizes of 50 x 60kg bags. We still buy these larger lots as the cups scores are often very good and their best lots score around the 86 mark. In 2015 we asked the board members if they would be interested in producing some smaller experimental lots to include naturals and washed lots.

The Bwishaza dry fermentation microlot is just 300kg in total and has been vacuum packed in 30kg boxes to ensure freshness. For this experiment we asked the producers to focus on hand sorting the cherry delivery to ensure as many defects were removed before using flotation to further remove any under-ripe cherry and contamination. This was then followed by pulping and a dry fermentation. Dry fermentation involves leaving the coffee to soak in water for 12-16 hrs to break down the mucilage left on the coffee after pulping (the other commonly used method is a wet ferment without water). Dry fermentation exposes the coffee to more oxygen compared to the wet fermentation method. The difference in oxygen exposure during fermentation can make a significant difference to the final flavours. After this the coffee is graded in grading channels and soaked in water for 10-12 hrs. The results of this careful processed microlot are outstanding. We love the well balanced, clean and juicy fruit notes with excellent caramel like sweetness.