RUGORI EXPERIMENTAL [WASHED ANAEROBIC]

Rwanda — Gasharu Washing Station Rugori Bourbon (Anaerobic Washed)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Cranberry • 🍓 Raspberry Jam • 🍫 Cacao Nib

DETAILS

• Producer: Valentin Kimenyi — Gasharu Washing Station
• Lot: Rugori (Women's Crown)
• Region: Macuba, Western Province, Rwanda
• Varietal: Bourbon
• Process: Anaerobic Washed (Experimental)
• Harvest: 2025
• Score: 87 SCA
• Roast: Espresso
• Size: 200g

INTRO

From Gasharu Washing Station in Macuba, Western Province — a special experimental anaerobic washed lot with a powerful human story at its heart. Rugori, meaning "Crown of Women" in Kinyarwanda, is produced and processed exclusively by women, with the proceeds of each harvest directed directly toward their autonomy and households. In the cup: cranberry acidity, raspberry jam sweetness, and a deep cacao nib finish, with a silky body and beautiful sweetness.

THE PRODUCER

Gasharu Washing Station was established in 2014 by Valentin Kimenyi on the high plateaus of Rwanda's Western Province in the Macuba sector — a region of exceptional growing conditions where high altitude, volcanic soils, and a cool, stable climate create ideal conditions for Bourbon cultivation. The Rugori lot is a distinct and intentional separation from within the station's production: exclusively picked, sorted, and processed by women producers, it was created to recognise and directly support the central role women play in Rwandan coffee farming, ensuring the value of their labour returns directly to their families and communities.

Red Bourbon, the variety mandated by the Rwandan government as the national coffee cultivar, thrives in the volcanic soils and cool highland conditions of the Western Province — producing the pronounced sweetness, complex fruit character, and refined structure that make Rwandan specialty coffee so celebrated worldwide.

THE PROCESS

The Anaerobic Washed process at Gasharu involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Ripe Bourbon cherries selectively harvested exclusively by women producers 🔒 Anaerobic fermentation — Cherries fermented in sealed, oxygen-free tanks, with controlled conditions throughout to build complexity and depth 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed after anaerobic fermentation 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed to remove all fermentation residue ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds to optimal moisture content

The sealed anaerobic fermentation is the defining step — by fermenting in an oxygen-free environment before depulping, the station builds the vivid cranberry and raspberry acidity and deep cacao complexity that define this experimental lot, while the clean washed processing preserves the silky body and sweetness that make it such a compelling espresso.

THE CUP

A vibrant, beautifully balanced, and deeply meaningful anaerobic washed Bourbon from one of Rwanda's most community-focused washing stations — cranberry and raspberry jam brightness balanced by a rich cacao nib depth, in a silky, sweet espresso that combines technical excellence with a powerful human purpose. The Crown of Women, in every cup.

Flavour Notes

🫐 Cranberry 🍓 Raspberry Jam 🍫 Cacao Nib