Bittersweet, burned caramel, wheat cereal, cocoa powder, molasses and chocolate malted grains
This custom decaf is made up of three different Nyamasheke coffees, a district that straddles the southeastern side of Lake Kivu, in Rwanda. Between these three cooperative wet-mills, they serve upwards to 5000 small-holder farmers in the region. The coffee processing sites sit between 1800 and 1900 meters above sea level, and coffee is grown on up to just over 2000 meters.
This is 100% Bourbon cultivar, which when grown at high altitudes produces a dense bean capable of producing a high level of sweetness. The decaffeination was handled by Swiss Water Decaf who use a chemical-free decaf process to remove 99.9% of the caffeine, while leaving much of the volatile compounds intact.
The dry fragrance has a chocolate wafer cookie smell, surprising sweetness and toffee malt accents. The wet aroma is much more bittersweet smelling, elements of hot cocoa come up in the steam, along with a grain-like, savory note. The hot coffee has the bittering and sweet aspects of burned caramel up front and a chocolate flavor close behind that brings to mind chocolate-caramel confections. As the coffee cools, a flavor of wheat cereal comes through, along with cocoa powder, and is a bit like chocolate swirled sweet bread.
- Origin: Rwanda
- Region: Nyamasheke, Western Province
- Altitude: 1800-1900m
- Cultivar: Bourbon
- Processing: Wet process
- Decaf: Swiss Water Processing (Toronto)
- Source: Sweet Maria’s