Funky Fruits 2.0: Light Roast (SO)

You don't need to be a child of the 70's to get in on this funk! 

This is an exceptional fruity and funky take on a 72 hour natural anaerobic coffee grown by our partners at Baho Coffee, who wish to use this coffee to combat an ever growing bias in speciality coffee, that only microlots can best represent a region's coffee and terroir.  

Enter this Ukuri lot. Ukuri or truth, in Kinyarwanda, is a lot conceived of by Emmanuel from Baho Coffee, on the premise that, while he identifies with and appreciates the push towards great traceability as long as it provides increased recognition and support for the grower, he also holds the firm conviction that Rwandese coffee is inherently great. 

And here's the thing, we've had the honour of roasting some rare and rewarding Rwandan microlots from Baho (like Superfly, Regine, and others), and they are great. We aren't taking away from the importance of microlots, but this coffee proves that small blended lots, as long as traceable and when the farmers are fairly paid, can be INCREDIBLE!

ORIGIN + VARIETY: SINGLE ORIGIN - Rwanda + Red Bourbon
TASTING NOTES: blueberry jam + cocoa + pear + funky (think dipping chocolate berries into party punch)
ROAST: Light

PRODUCERS: Smallholder blended lots
REGION: Nyamasheke District, Western Province & Nyaruguru District, Southern Province
ALTITUDE: 1550-1900 masl
PROCESS: 72 hour natural anaerobic process

SIZE: 125g, 227g, 340g, 908g

GRIND: Whole Bean, Filter, Moka Pot, French Press 

More about this Natural Anaerobic processing method:

Cherries are floated and sorted at the washing station. Once complete, they were stored in sealed bags for 12 hours overnight. The next morning, the cherries were deposited into sealed plastic barrels and left to ferment in shade for 72 hours. At the end of these 72 hours, the cherries were moved to raised drying beds in direct sunlight for the initial 5 days, before being moved to raised beds in solar dryers where they underwent a total drying time of 50 - 55 days.

Once this fermentation period is complete, the cherries are immediately turned out onto drying beds. The goal is for cherries to be a single layer on the beds, maximum 2 - 4 cm of depth. For the first 5 days, the coffee is turned every hour. From day 5 to day 20, coffee is turned every 2 hours. From day 20 - 50, the coffee and ambient temperature are strictly monitored to keep the rate of drying slow and controlled.

Temperature is recorded throughout the day - if it exceeds certain thresholds, workers will focus on turning coffee more frequently or cover the beds with mesh netting. In more rare cases, if the temperature exceeds extremely high thresholds, entire beds will sometimes be relocated under complete shade for a few days. This focus on extremely thin layers, coupled with frequent turning and temperature monitoring, is to ensure that the flavours remain clean and free from over-fermentation or mold defects.

More about Baho Coffee (who oversees the washing stations, and directly supports the farmers that we source from in Rwanda):

“Baho’s vision on community is guided by having a synergetic relationship with the
community of farmers that we work with, where we guide them and create solutions
in a replicable, sustainable and scalable manner leading to economic growth and
poverty reduction. Our overall vision is implied by the meaning of our name, Baho,
which in our local language means live/life. It is like a tree that grows up and has
branches, flowers and fruits and still keeps its roots in the ground. Baho is born,
grows up and sells coffee both locally and internationally and never forgets the
origin.”
- Emmanuel Rusatira, Owner Baho Coffee

It's hard not to be inspired by Emmanuel's genuine curiosity and passion for quality coffee
and experimentation. At a handful of his washing stations he is not only producing extremely clean natural processed coffees, but also pushing the experimental boundaries of the fermentation process (all very rare for Rwanda!).

Furthermore, Emmanuel is impressively proactive with education and outreach. He works closely with producers year round, and ensures they paid well above the national average of Rwanda, in addition to the bonuses paid to farmers in order to circumvent limits imposed by the government. We are so proud to be in business with Emmanuel and call him a friend. 

Brewing Tips: 

• ICED COFFEE: Perfect as a funky and wild pour over flash freeze brew. Use large cocktail ice, lower your brewing ratios and then prepare as you usually would (with the option of adding a bit less water)! 

Thank you as always to our partners at www.Semilla.com for a lot of the information and images contained on this page!