Akagera - Rwanda (natural)

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Tasting notes

Passion fruit — Caramel — Elderberry

During the harvest season, cherry is selectively handpicked by farmers and their families. At intake, staff sort cherry by hand and then float the cherry to check for density. The station accepts cherry that passes both visual hand sorting and floating. Sorting work consumes over 70% of seasonal labor. After sorting and intake, cherry is moved to raised beds. Workers rake drying cherry frequently to ensure even drying.

Rusatira, the farmer says he drew inspiration about drying from cooking methods. “When you take meat and you put it on charcoal, after 20 min you have your meat ready. But in an oven, it would take 45 minutes. If you put it in hot ash, it may take two hours. When you taste these three meats, there's a difference in the taste,” he says. “I have this kind of thinking that coffees that dry slowly, the taste and lifespan of this coffee may be longer and more delicious than the coffee that dries for 10-12 days in sun.” In total, the cherry dries under careful scrutiny for an average of 52 days.