RWANDA | RUGALI NATURAL

Country: Rwanda
Region: Nyamasheke
Producer Rugali
Elevation: 1550 - 1800 masl
Cultivar: Red Bourbon
Process: Natural
Taste notes: White grape, honeysuckle, pear, tropical, elegant, composed

Rugali is located in Nyamasheke District in the south west of Rwanda. Located on the shore of Lake Kivu and actually the entry point you grab the boat to head to sister-station Gisheke. The station has seen vast developments since being developed in April 2016. In it's first season, Rugali sold Natural processed coffees and was the first and only legally approved station in Rwanda to do so. Now, Naturals in Rwanda are both common and revered in their appeal.

In late 2018, early 2019, the team at Rugali built out an amazing new dry mill that's pushed their quality control to a new level. Previously, they were using a publicly accessed dry-mill for all the coffees produced by Muraho Trading Co. Now, all the coffee is being done at Rugali and a vast improvement has occurred in the sorting and the efficiency at the mill.

This natural offering has depth of fruit characteristics, with a loud enjoyable personality. It's a dynamite espresso or shows cleanly as a pour over. The cherries are floated and then laid to raised beds for up to 40 days, with a very controlled and highly monitored drying period. Rugali CWS has a significant team of nearly 200 during peak season, with many of those team members monitoring the drying beds.