Our Roaster's Love for Rwandan Coffee Goes a Little Way Back.
Our head roaster, Takuya, spent his university days in Tokyo. Reflecting those days, Takuya says he often enjoyed drinking Rwandan coffee just like he does now.
After encountering specialty coffee, Takuya remenbers the fun he felt in choosing origins and savoring different characteristics of different varieties. His first favorite origin was Ethiopia- its strikingly unique coffee and the distinctive flavor deeply impressed the young coffee enthusiast seeking for new experience. We are sure it's something all of us coffee loves can relate to. 
After the initial craze of trying everything, Rwandan coffee stayed his favorite- distinctive presence of sweetness followed by a mellow, satsuma or black tea like aftertaste. Writing this, the coffee from Rwanda even matches with Takuya's calm personality.
In his Tokyo days, he'd often visited local cult shops such as FUGLEN Tokyo and ONIBUS COFFEE. Now he is working as a head roaster, group purchasing coffee wth them- he has come a long way.
Today, there may be another emerging coffee lover, inspired by the Rwandan coffee Takuya roasts and becomes a roaster themselves- that'd be a nice sequel.
Rwanda Ruli Honey : A Juicy Coffee Worthy of Celebrating Spring
- Roast Level: Light
- Process: Honey
- Variety: Bourbon
- Cup comment: Sweet aroma, taste of baked apple, mandarin orange and raisin, brown sugar-like thick sweetness and accompanying aftertaste.
Rwandan coffee are commonly washed, but this Ruli Honey goes through honey process which brings out the sweetness of Bourbon variety to the fullest.
If one was to descripe typical Rwandan coffee's taste to be slow burning and nourishing, this Ruli Honey is that but even more juicy- it has both scrumptious, moth-watering fruitiness and deep, yet tender feel to it.
Spring embraces the hustle and bustle of busy city with warm, fragrant breeze. This coffee is a perfect cup for such season- almost an embodiment of the calm, blossoming season itself.
A Cup That Tells You the Spring Is Coming
In Rwanda, the production cycle ends with the processing of coffee in October, and the beans arrive to us between January and March. Therefore, naturally, many specialty coffee roasters offer Rwandan coffee as their March/April lineup.
For us roasters, Rwandan coffee is a reminder of coming spring. A subtle, but a growing longing for the new season- not only a slow-developing kind of excitement, but also an apparent expectation of the season of blossoms and fruits.
Roaster's Personal Favorite
Once a roaster starts a roasting process, they can't leave the site for several hours. That's why some of us sometimes brew our favorite coffee before we start the whole procedure, to contemplate on the flavor development and flavor notes we find in the cup to seek inspiration and motivation.
Our head roaster, Takuya's current favorite is this Ruli Honey.
"We pick coffee for our lineup based on freshness, stock situation, if it makes a good espresso, etc....but this Ruli Honey strikes top scores on every aspect. Its fresh and sweet flavor fits the spring vibe perfectly. I'm roasting this in a way that we can bring out the floral, tea-like aroma and sweet aftertaste typical of Rwandan coffee", Takuya says as he roasts his batch.
We are planning to have Ruli Honey in stock until summer, and we are excited to see how the cups develop even better as the season changes.
Rwandan coffee is actually in our seasonal blend, Haru Kochi too. A fresh harvest for a fresh season- we hope to share this special coffee with many of you. For cherry blossom viewing, or for a picnic- enjoy our Rwandan coffee if you haven't already!
