Rwanda

Marie Bedabasingwa

Washed process Red Bourbon

Flavour: plum skin, rose, blood orange

It’s rare to be able to share coffee from Rwanda identify the specific producer responsible for it – most producers have farms of 300-600 trees, and their daily harvest is mixed with others received the same day at the washing station to make a lot large enough to process and sell.

We’re even more proud to have been able to make this the third year in a row we’ve shared coffee from such a producer.

Marie is one of these small producers, owning around 600 trees, and one of the reasons it’s possible to purchase her coffee specifically is because the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative (of which Marie is a member) now have their own dry mill. Having their own dry mill enables them to process smaller lots and control quality from the beginning of the process – the coffee cherry being delivered – right through to export.

Marie was born in 1955, and was widowed in the horrific Rwandan genocide of 1994. She was faced with the responsibility of caring for her five surviving children and rebuilding their life, and coffee has played a big part in helping her to do this. She also plans to invest in another 200 trees for her farm in the next year.

Marie processes her coffee at Ruli, which is Dukunde Kawa’s first and biggest washing station. Just over 800 cooperative members deliver coffee cherries to this washing station.

Drying beds

‘Dukunde Kawa’ means ‘love coffee’ in Kinyarwanda (Rwanda’s official language), symbolising the power of coffee as a means to improve the lives of those in rural communities.

Dukunde Kawa is a very creative and dynamic cooperative. Our sourcing partners for this coffee, Melbourne Coffee Merchants, have been working with this cooperative since 2008, and on each visit have seen the investments and improvements implemented by the cooperative to improve the lives of its members and their families, and to produce the best quality coffee possible.

For example, in 2014, the cooperative built a dry mill at their Ruli washing station. Owning a dry mill is very rare in rural Rwanda: this sort of infrastructure is usually found only in the urban centre of Kigali. It is a significant and commendable investment, and a great example of the cooperative’s commitment to produce high quality coffee. The dry mill has given them more control over the processing and has also allowed for more micro-lot separation and experimentation.

Also unusually for a smaller cooperative, Ruli has recently become Rainforest Alliance certified, UTZ certified, and Fair Trade certified. These certifications help the growing cooperative find different markets for the coffee. “We were already doing a lot of the things that were required for these certifications”, Issac the executive secretary of the cooperative explained, “We are always trying to be the best cooperative we can be. Getting the certifications has helped highlight what we are doing well and helped us raise our standards in other areas”.

Learn everything about this coffee:

---

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

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer

Marie Bedabasingwa

Country

Rwanda

Region

Gakenke District, Ruli Sector

Altitude

1,960m above sea level

Variety

Red Bourbon

Process

washed

Harvested

July 2024

Importer

Melbourne Coffee Merchants

Body

Medium

Acidity

Crisp

Tasting notes

Plum skin, rose, blood orange

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)