A vibrant, experimental washed Red Bourbon from the women of Kumbya Farm — sparkling, sweet, and beautifully refined.
Please welcome our newest coffee release, Rwanda Kumbya! A vibrant, experimental washed Red Bourbon from the women of Kumbya Farm — sparkling, sweet, and beautifully refined.
Rwanda Kumbya comes to us from Kumbya Farm along Lake Kivu and is processed at the Gasharu Washing Station. This may sound familiar — last year we featured Rwanda Gasharu, an anaerobic natural from the same washing station. If you enjoyed that funky, experimental coffee from last year, there’s a good chance Rwanda Kumbya will be right up your alley.
Processing
Rwanda Kumbya is an experimental washed coffee, meaning you can expect added clarity and nuance while still experiencing something a bit unconventional in both process and cup profile.
This Experimental Washed process borrows techniques more commonly found in Kenya, involving a double fermentation and double wash — a method that’s still relatively unique to this region.
The cherries are first collected and floated in water tanks before passing through a depulper, which removes the fruit from the coffee seeds. After depulping, the coffee is transferred to fermentation tanks, where the seeds undergo 12–14 hours of dry fermentation.
Following this, the coffee is sorted and moved into tanks for a second fermentation period of approximately 8 hours. It is then sorted again at pre-drying tables before being transferred to raised African beds, where it dries for 16–20 days.
Once dried, this Grade A coffee is carefully stored until it’s ready to be hulled and sorted, then packed for export. This time-sensitive and delicately managed process plays a key role in producing such a refined cup, though it represents just one part of the coffee’s overall journey.
The Story
Rwanda Kumbya is produced entirely by women. In fact, more than 70% of Gasharu Coffee employees are women, and this coffee allows us to continue recognizing their ongoing contributions to the coffee community.
We are also assisting in creating a transparent framework that helps ensure Rwandan women receive additional proceeds resulting from their labor and dedication to coffee harvesting, processing, and sorting.
Rwanda Kumbya is the direct result of Rwandan women’s farming expertise, quality-focused practices, and well-executed, innovative processing. Thanks to this care and attention to detail, the result is a sparkling cup with exceptional clarity.
In this single-varietal Red Bourbon coffee, look for tasting notes of sweet and tart grenadine, orange, and bright pineapple acidity. It’s incredibly clean and well-balanced, walking the line between experimental and classic Rwanda profiles beautifully.
Overall
Rwanda Kumbya will briefly overlap on our menu with Rwanda Ejo Heza, a more traditionally washed Rwanda. If you have the chance to try them side by side, we highly recommend it.
We hope you enjoy this coffee — and keep an eye out for more releases coming soon.
Thanks for reading!
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About the writer: Emma LaVoie is the Education Manager for Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters. She's the brains behind this blog and lit a fire under our team to follow suit. You can almost always find Emma reading a book with a coffee in hand. If you're interested in reaching out to Emma, shoot her an email: emma@dessertoasiscoffee.com. She'd be happy to geek out over coffee with you. (Seriously, don't hesitate to reach out — she'll love it.)