Rwanda Faustin Ribilimana: Sample Coffee Roasters

Rwanda
Faustin Ribilimana

Having grown up as a member of a prominent coffee-farming family, Faustin Ribilimana has over four decades of experience and expertise in growing coffee. He inherited his first plot of land from his parents, and eventually expanded the number of coffee trees he cares for to another, separate property. We’re finding notes of passionfruit, green apple, and lemon.

Body Acidity

Roasted omni for filter and espresso

It is very rare to be able to get a coffee that is traceable back to a single producer in Rwanda, so we feel extremely fortunate to be able to share this special lot from Faustin Ribilimana and wife Judith Kankera.

Most of the coffees sourced from Rwanda are traceable back to a washing station, or sometimes a farmer group. Washing stations in Rwanda receive cherry from hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of farmers who own very small plots of land – on average less than a quarter hectare, with just 300-600 coffee trees. Separation of such tiny lots is expensive and impractical, so the large majority of coffees are processed as a mixed lot from multiple producers. Typically, lots are separated as day lots (ie. cherries that were all picked on the same day) rather than by a single farm or producer group.

Single producer microlots like this one are very special. In this case, it is made possible due to the size of Faustin’s farm, which slightly bigger than the average farm, totalling 1,240 coffee trees across two parcels of land. Ribilimana also benefits from being a member of the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative, who operate their own dry mill, where they can process smaller lots individually, whilst minimising cost and maintaining excellent quality standards.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Red Bourbon coffee beans, provided by Melbourne Coffee Merchants and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: Faustin Ribilimana
Farm/Coop: Ruli Washing Station
Country: Rwanda
Region: Gakenke District
Altitude: 2020m above sea level
Varietals: Red Bourbon
Process: Washed
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Passionfruit, green apple, lemon
Roast style: Omni

Varietals

Red Bourbon varietal

The location

Coffee from Rwanda

Since the genocide of 1994, coffee has come to represent a symbol of recovery and regrowth for Rwanda.

The Northern Region region of Rwanda

Lower altitude to the Western and Southern region

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.