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Rwanda Women's Extension Kawa Yacu Natural
This delicious offering from the Rwanda Women’s Coffee Extension is wonderfully accessible for a natural process coffee. While some naturals can be too intense for some, this coffee has plenty of sweetness and fruity flavors without being overwhelming. We tasted lovely ripe raspberry, dried strawberry, orange zest and a healthy heaping of milk chocolate.
Based in the Karongi district of Rwanda’s Western Province, the Rwanda Women’s Coffee Extension has seen huge growth in both members and production since its inception in 2017. All this growth has allowed them to expand their selections to include peaberry, honey processed and of course our favorite, natural processed! But us natural lovers often forget those intense flavors just aren’t for everyone. For some folks, natural is just too big, too in your face and too loud. Well allow me to introduce you to the perfect natural processed coffee for you!
I like to describe coffees like this as “accessible”. They represent some of the best a group of coffees has to offer, but with the edges rounded off. This coffee has the brightness of a washed coffee and the sweetness of a natural. It’s fairly complex, but it’s also got a nice, full body and pleasantly creamy texture. The flavors are present and delicious without being too intense and overpowering. Speaking of which, we tasted lovely ripe raspberry, dried strawberry, orange zest and a healthy heaping of milk chocolate. A delicious coffee that’s a great way to introduce new comers to the wide world of natural processing!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: December 9th, 2022 Harvest year 2022, packed in GrainPro
Acidity & Brightness: Bright and sweet
Balance & Finish: Fairly complex with a lingering finish
Body & Texture: Full body with a creamy texture
Flavors: Raspberry, strawberry, orange zest & milk chocolate
Grade: Grown at 1700 to 2200 meters
Processing: Natural (dry) processed, sun dried on raised beds
Grower: Women’s Coffee Extension (WCE) of Mbizi Coffee Washing Station
Region: Karongi District, Western Province, Rwanda
Varieties: Local Bourbon varieties
Recommended Roast Range: City to Full City (Light to medium)
We like this coffee in the City to Full City range (mid first crack to just before 2nd crack). If you want to squeeze out more body, go right up to just before 2nd crack. For more acidity and fruit, pull your roast 30 seconds to a minute into 1st crack.
Royal Coffee NY - "This special lot comes to us from the Women Coffee Extension (WCE) at the Mbizi Coffee Washing Station. Founded in 2017 by Aline Christine and Odette Uwamariya, the WCE is a women’s coffee cooperative focused on creating a space for female specialty coffee producers to have a stronger voice in Rwanda coffee production. Today, the WCE has over 700 female coffee producer members!
The WCE is focused on educating and empowering their members. They offer services such as family planning, nutrition programs, agricultural practices and even providing cows and goats to their members. These initiatives have changed the lives of many of their members. Coffee production has increased from 3 kgs to 4 kgs per tree. The washing station moved from producing 3 containers to 6 containers of green coffee.
Looking forward, WCE has goals to continue to expand programs for the benefit of their members. They are currently working on Rain Forest certification in order to increase the premium of their coffee. In the future, they have goals to provide cows to all of their members, cover health insurance for a majority of members, build a sewing center for young people in order to create new jobs and even build a Nursery School to help the kids in the area, to name a few!”
