Rwanda Gasharu Experimental EXOTIC
Rwanda Gasharu Authentic – Ireme Experimental EXOTIC
I cannot tell you how excited I am to bring you this coffee, for the third year running. The internal market pressure in Rwanda at harvest time was immense. New taxes on producers and exporters threatened the whole chain and thankfully, this crop is the best yet.
Previously, I have said to friends who are producers that the only problem with producing borderline-perfect coffee is the pressure that you put on yourselves for future crops! Over the last few years, the Ireme coffee from Gasharu has improved and this year, without a word of a lie, it is the best I have tasted it.
Top Trumps:
Name: Gasharu Coffee Washing Station
Location: Macuba Sector, Nyamasheke District, Western Province
Foundation year: 2014
Manager: Valentin Kimenyi
Number of farmers: 1650
Varietal: Bourbon
Processing method: Ireme Anaerobic/experimental fermentation 72 hours/ dried on raised beds.
The altitude of the farms: 1600 – 2100 masl
The altitude of the CWS: is 1670 masl
Average yearly rainfall: 1300-1400 mm
Soil: Acidic Soil
Projects: Support farmers in organising as cooperatives and train them in governance and finances so that they can have savings for the future.
Roast: Light Filter, cool dropped.
Cup Potential: 🥣
|Aromatics: Sweet, Ripe, Fruity, Boozy, Chocolate| Body: light-Medium| Acidity: Soft, sweet, and citric.
Aromatically, this reaks of perfection to me. Over the last 3 years, we have had rummy chocolate and cacao and now…we have this. The first sip is soft and deeply sweet with hints of melon, dark chocolate, and a long citrus finish. This coffee is so fruity it must be at least two of my 5 a day.
Playful fruit sugars, with that soft low acidity that slowly evolves into a roasted cacao finish. On cooling the Gasharu becomes pink fruity, like tart raspberries enveloped in dark chocolate and eventually a sweet boozy grapefruit finish.
In Espresso:
Temp: 93-94C. There is plenty here to work on without increasing the temperature.
Time: 28-35 seconds
Recipe for milk-based drinks. 16-18g into 34-36g
Recipe for Espresso: 16-18g of coffee into either 45g or 60g. I recommend exploring your shot length for espresso. See below.
Working from the biggest drink we do to the smallest.
Like last year, this is an absolute dream in a 9oz milk-based drink. Think beautiful hot chocolate with a rum finish. As you brew this into a shorter 6 or 5oz, you just get more pronounced chocolate and boozy citrus.
Due to the lightness of the roast, we recommend extracting this coffee for a little longer than standard espresso, if you can. The espresso is soft, ripe, and floral with a dominant grapefruity second half.
About Gasharu Coffee.
In 1976 when he was 17 years old Celestin Rumenerangabo, my father, planted his first coffee trees in Nyamasheke. As a farmer and buyer of cherries, he grew the business to what it is today. We now have 2 washing stations, Gasharu and Muhororo, and can export beans from nearly 1650 smallholder farmers directly. Over the last 43 years, we’ve maintained an unwavering dedication to making the highest-quality coffee we can. Coffee has been critical to rebuilding our community after the 1994 Tutsi Genocide and it remains an important part of our culture and ways. With local businesses being taken over by large multinational companies, we are aware that we have to make Gasharu Coffee more resilient. We have improved our sourcing and processing methods, encouraging curiosity about innovative ideas to take coffee to the next level, producing natural, honey, and experimental processes like this one.
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