January 2025 - It's More Than 'Our Coffee', It's Community
JANUARY 2025’s Coffee Origin
RWANDA - WOMENS COFFEE EXTENTION - 'KAWA YACU'
RWANDA - WOMENS COFFEE EXTENTION 'KAWA YACU'
Region: Karongi District, Western Province
Varietal: Bourbon
Growing Elevation: 5500+ feet
Process: Natural and Sun Dried
Flavour Profile and Notes: GO CUP YOURSELF and find out!
This Month's Coffee Selection
Kawa Yacu, translates to, "Our Coffee", which makes perfect sense when discussing this offering. This Rwandan coffee is from the Women Coffee Extension through the Mbizi Coffee Washing Station. As it's name suggests, The Women Coffee Extension is a women’s coop focused on strengthening the voice and presence of women in the Rwandan coffee industry. Founded in 2017, the coop has grown to over 700 members and aims to reach 1200 members by 2027.
We've discussed the benefit (and our love) of cooperatives in many past origin blog posts. Whenever a group of people can work together to better the conditions of an entire community, we are happy to support them (especially when it leads to amazing coffee). The Women Coffee Extension helps its members with family planning, education, nutrition, agriculture programs and so much more.
Since its inception, members have increased their productivity upwards of an additional 1kg per tree and doubled their export supply to the washing station. The cooperative has significantly improved the quality of their member's coffees, leading to increased wages and better living conditions for members and their communities. While we could go on about the benefits of the coop and the importance of women in coffee, that's not why we are here. What we want to know, is how does this coffee taste and how does it compare to other Rwandan offerings we've tried. To find out, it's time you Go Cup Yourself!
Roaster’s Notes:
This month's coffee appeared very uniform in colour and size when we opened the bag, a testament to the quality and effort put in by the washing station and coop. As is now the norm, we decided to go with a medium roast. First crack was boisterous and proud on this roast, second crack was more of a hissing noise. This month's roast is a full medium (so you may notice a sheen or a bit of oil on the bean) as we let the roast settle into second crack as the coffee evened out in colour. As you will notice, it was well worth the extra time to get this coffee right. The tasting notes are subtle and a bit different than expected but definitely noticeable if you focus.
While cupping look for a hint of Pineapple, Tangerine/Citrus and …wait a minute, if you want cupping notes Go Cup Yourself!
Once you have finished Cupping, click on the “EXPERT TASTED” tab for our tasting notes. Can’t wait to compare notes.
As always, we'd love to hear from you. Better yet, tell the world what you think. If you've been enjoying the Go Cup Yourself experience, please take a moment to review us on Facebook, Google, Yelp, Reddit, a bathroom stall door or anywhere you get your reviews.