Rwanda
Philippe Sinoyobye

Philippe is a member of the Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa Maraba cooperative, who own their own dry mill where they can process smaller lots individually. We taste cherry, golden sultana, and mandarin.

Washed process Red Bourbon

Flavour: cherry, golden sultana, and mandarin

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

We’re blessed once again with an unusual single-producer lot by Rwandan Philippe Sinoyobye.

Most Rwandan specialty coffee lots are sold under the name of the cooperative that mixes and processes them. Only a few, like Philippe (or Marie Bedabasingwa or Andre Hakizimana), produce large enough harvests to sell them as their very own product.

Philippe Sinoyobye and his wife, Angelique Muhayimana, manage a piece of land in the lush, green hills of the Huye District in Rwanda’s Southern Province. Coffee cherries grow at 1800 masl, producing around 6,000kg of cherry yearly.

These are processed at the Maraba Kabuye washing station, which recently upgraded its cherry sorting equipment, installed water treatment facilities and constructed a storage warehouse where the coffee is safely kept before being transported to Kigali for the final stages of milling and preparation for export. No wonder—the Maraba Cooperative has consistently been recognised for quality, including numerous Cup of Excellence awards in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015.

Philippe’s farm.

(If you’re interested, you can read more about the producer and the cooperative at Melbourne Coffee Merchant’s site.)

This lot is a traditionally washed Red Bourbon with all the classic traits of Rwandan coffees: medium body, high acidity and sweet, citrusy flavours. Really, really pleasant.

All the images and information about this coffee and its producers have been kindly shared by the importer, MCM, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).

Resting your beans inside the sealed bag helps develop peak flavours and acidity.

Learn how long and why you should wait on our brewing window recommendations guide.

Try our step-by-step recipes and videos.

Our recipes are easy to follow and designed to bring the best out of our coffee. Find your favourite method on our brew guides collection or test a new one—and if you have any questions, ask us anytime at [email protected].

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: Philippe Sinoyobye
Country: Rwanda
Region: Huye District
Altitude: 1800m above sea level
Variety: Red Bourbon
Process: washed
Importer: Melbourne Coffee Merchants
Body: Medium
Acidity: Bright
Tasting notes: Cherry, golden sultana, and mandarin
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Red Bourbon variety

The location

Coffee from Rwanda

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

The Southern and Western Region region of Rwanda

Centred around 3 main areas; the Huye mountains, the Nyamagabe region, and the Nyamasheke region in close proximity to Lake Kivu

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.