Rwanda

Cyarumbo Peaberry

Washed process Red Bourbon

Flavour: kumquat, cherry, cola

This 100% Red Bourbon lot was produced using coffee cherry from 41 smallholder farmers who deliver to Cyarumbo washing station. The washing station is located in the Huye Sector of Huye District, in Rwanda’s Southern Province. It is owned and operated by the Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa Maraba Cooperative (known as ‘Maraba’), who own three other washing stations in the district.

Ancila Mukarusine is a coffee farmer and member of Maraba Cooperative and one of the many seasonal workers at Cyarumbo – Rwanda’s first specialty-focused washing station!

This is a peaberry lot, which refers to the size and shape of the beans. Normally coffee seeds develop as a pair with flattened facing sides, but sometimes just one seed develops and forms an oval shape to occupy the entire space within the coffee cherry. This is called a peaberry and these small and round coffee beans are carefully selected and separated out from the rest of the crop during the milling stages.

These are little beans with a big flavour! We purchased our first micro-lot of Rwandan peaberries in 2017 and have been consistently impressed with these lots ever since.

ABOUT CYARUMBO WASHING STATION

Founded in 2001, Maraba Cyarumbo was Rwanda’s first specialty-focused washing station established by a cooperative. Prior to Cyarumbo being built, most Rwandan farmers produced sun-dried natural coffees, or washed coffees that were pulped by hand using stones — with very few protocols for quality control. Transparency along the supply chain was non-existent, and farmers had no access to the international market or fair prices for their crop. Set up as a model operation, workers at Cyarumbo were key in showcasing the best practices needed to maximise quality potential to the country’s ailing coffee industry. To say they were successful at this is an understatement, as Rwanda has gone to open over 300 washing stations since then!

Cyarumbo is located in the Huye District of Rwanda’s Southern Province and sits at an elevation of 1,680 meters above sea level. The washing station services 568 members of the cooperative, who grow coffee locally – some with farms as high as 2,200 meters above sea level. The area has ideal growing conditions for high-quality coffee, with high elevations, good rainfall and steady temperatures year-round. Day to day operations are overseen by the station manager, Aphrodice Twagirayesu, while Christine Ilibagiza serves as head of QC. A total of five permanent staff and 115 seasonal workers are employed by the washing station – most of whom are women.

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

• Dose: 20g ground coffee
• Yield: 60g espresso
• Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

• Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
• Labels: recyclable
• Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
• Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

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Our packaging

Producer

41 Cooperative Members

Farm/Coop

Cyarumbo Washing Station

Country

Rwanda

Region

Huye, Southern Province

Altitude

1680m above sea level

Variety

Red Bourbon

Process

washed

Harvested

April 2023

Importer

Melbourne Coffee Merchants

Body

Acidity

Tasting notes

Kumquat, cherry, cola

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)