Rwanda Speciality 100% Arabica - Fresh coffee beans

This is a single-origin Arabica from the Simbi washing station in the Huye district, in Rwanda's southern province, roasted by Café du Jour and sold as whole beans. It cups at an SCA score of 84.25.

What the score means

Speciality coffees are graded out of 100 by trained cuppers, and 80 is the line above which a lot counts as speciality rather than commodity coffee. At 84.25 this one sits comfortably above that line: a cleanly graded, carefully separated lot rather than something blended away into a supermarket tin.

Washed at Simbi

The name of the place describes the method. At a washing station the ripe cherry is pulped and the beans are fermented and washed before they go out to dry, which strips the fruit pulp away early and gives the clear, clean cup that washed African coffees are known for.

The roast

We roast this coffee at a fairly low temperature. It takes colour faster than most beans do, so even with a gentle roast it lands squarely in the middle: a medium roast, not a dark one. That keeps the fruit in the cup. You get chocolate first, then stone fruit, and a finish that stays fruity rather than turning bitter. On our own scale it sits at 6 out of 13, which is where a filter or cafetière coffee is usually happiest, though it takes an espresso grind well if you want the fruit concentrated.

Specifications

• Origin: Simbi washing station, Huye district, southern Rwanda
• Composition: 100% Arabica
• Processing: washed
• Form: whole beans, roasted by Café du Jour
• Roast: medium
• Strength: 6 out of 13
• Flavour: chocolate and stone fruit, fruity finish
• SCA score: 84.25