Vincent Rukeribuga - Rwanda

Tasting like cherry jam, dark chocolate, and with some florals reminiscent of violets. Sweet and slightly boozy. Candy-like. 

Origin: Rwanda
Region: Western Province
Producer: Vincent Rukeribuga
Elevation: 1960 masl
Variety: Red Bourbon
Process: Anaerobic Natural

Roasted for: Filter

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It is a pleasure to welcome our first lot from Vincent Rukeribuga that we source through our partners at Café Imports. 

Vincent Rukeribuga owns and operates his own farm located in Kamonyi village, within the Cyato region of Rwanda. He started out as a coffee farmer in 1989 with only 100 seedlings, and slowly expanded his production over time. According to Vincent, he noticed that his neighbors were able to support funding higher education for their children through coffee production, and was determined to do the same.

Vincent's attention to detail in cherry selection and cultivation of his coffee plants was realized as he was delivering coffee to a local mill and it was decided to develop anaerobically fermented lots with him. Vincent's cherrie are kept separate to maintain traceability back to his farm. 

Once a week Vincent delivers freshly-harvest cherries to the mill. The cherries are promptly sorted and floated in water to remove defects and then fermented for 24-72 hours in sealed tanks, depending on the ambient conditions and factors such as sugar content that relate directly to fermentation inside the tanks.

After this process is complete, the cherries are then moved to raised beds to dry in the sun for an average of 20 days — they are turned every 45 minutes to ensure an even moisture content throughout the lot.  Once cherries are dried, they are stored in a cool and dry environment before being hulled, cupped, and then milled for export.