Description
Mutovu Coffee Washing Station was founded in 2012 by a small group of ten farmers in Rwanda’s Nyamasheke District, near Nyungwe National Forest. Each farmer managed between 1,500 and 5,000 coffee trees, pooling resources to process their own harvests and those of neighboring farms. From its first season, Mutovu earned a reputation for quality, then built on that success by reinvesting in upgrades like new drying beds and a warehouse to improve operations. As competition grew and volumes declined, the group sold the wet mill to a private coffee company but retained their farms, diversifying into other ventures. Today, the station sits at 1,750 meters, with coffee grown as high as 1,950 meters, and continues to thrive through strong partnerships that provide extension services, distribute seedlings, and encourage farm rejuvenation. Mutovu remains a cornerstone of the community, producing Bourbon variety coffee in rich volcanic soils at high altitude—hallmarks of Rwanda’s finest coffees.
The Nyamasheke district in Rwanda is gifted in terroir. The cool, humid climates of both Lake Kivu and the Nyungwe Forest National Park keep groundwater abundant throughout the uniquely hilly region. Kivu itself is part of the East African Rift whose consistent drift creates volcanic seepage from the lake’s bottom and enriches the surrounding soils. Coffees from this region are often jammier and heavier than in the rest of the country. Coffee from Cyiya’s farmers in particular are honey-sweet and tend to be delicately floral, with lychee, citrus, and sweet tobacco flavors.
Tasting Notes: A very fresh and semi-exotic Rwanda coffee. A good cup from light to medium roasts. A little brighter cup with a citric and grape/apple like fruitiness upfront. Pulls some contrast with a semi-sweet chocolate tone, some lingering African spice in the aftertaste. A milder “natural” processing, adds some great complexities to the taste, raised sweetness levels and hints of fruit but no boozy or over fermentation noted. The medium roast offers a smooth cup with an accentuated bakers chocolate note, hints of the fruitiness in the aftertaste and as the cup cools. Darker roasts add complementary roasty notes, a sweet flavor of caramelized sugar and chocolate, with a hint of spice, lower acidity, and a fuller body, although its fruity notes are somewhat overshadowed by the chocolate. It is undoubtedly a coffee with a great balance between sweetness and fruitiness.
Roasting Notes: This coffee roasts well from light to medium. Roast lighter if you prefer higher fruity acidity and a medium-floral body. In a medium roast, you can find a balance between bright acidity and a fuller body, enhancing the chocolate and cocoa notes while still complementing the fruit flavors of this coffee. Darker roasts are perfect if you prefer more intense semi-sweet chocolate notes and a more robust body, although this will sacrifice some acidity and hide the fruitier characteristics. It produces a little more chaff, so it is recommended to clean the chaff collector before roasting. It roasts evenly and can darken a bit quickly in the roaster, so be sure to monitor the bean expansion if you are aiming for a lighter roast.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.