NOVA - RWANDA

ROUND ACIDITY, RIPE SWEETNESS, TEA-LIKE 

CUPPING NOTES: Milk Tea, Red Apple, Cooked Redcurrants, Dark Plums, Hibiscus
VARIETAL: Red Bourbon
ORIGIN: Gicumbi, Rwanda
WASHING STATION: Nova Coffee
PRODUCER: Agnes Mukamushinja & Felix Hitayezu with Various Smallholder Farmers
HARVEST: June 2022
PROCESSING: Pulped, Dry Fermented for 18 hours, Rinsed & Dried on Raised Beds
WEIGHT: 200g
RECOMMENDED FOR: Filter & Espresso

Excited to continue our Rwandan showcase for 2022’s harvest! Through our new relationship with Latanier Co, we’re able to discover new producers & washing stations that offer us a deeper insight into the wider flavours spectrum of Rwandan coffees. Nova Coffee which was founded in 2015  is owned by Agnes Mukamushinja & Felix Hitayezu. With a focus on social responsibility, they have directly engaged with more than 2,500 local farmers to continually work on implementing ethical & social responsibilities that they believe will eventually filter down to the quality of the coffees. 

Female empowerment is a strong motivator for Nova Coffee. More than 85% of their workforce are women & they sincerely believe that this workforce brings about greater benefit to their coffees. The production here consists of the typical pulp & dry ferment for up to 18 hours after the coffees undergo a pre-sorting via skilled pickers. After fermentation, they are rinsed to remove excess mucilage before being moved to the raised beds for drying. This is where the meticulous female workforce makes the larger difference as the coffees are constantly turned and sorted to remove any physical defects & foreign objects. The coffees are dried to a moisture content of about 12% for up to 2 weeks, constantly covered in the hot days to prevent the beans from drying out too quickly. 

Nova has stood out for us in comparison to the other Rwandan coffees we’ve sampled. It carries an intensity similar to Kenyan coffees yet the flavour quality is riper than what we have been accustomed to. Our “SINGLE PROFILE” philosophy focuses on bringing the acidity, sweetness & mouthfeel into balance without imparting unnecessary caramelized flavours. In our cups, we absolutely love the round red apple-like acidity as well as the sweetness of ripe dark plums that supports the taste experience. We also adore the milk tea-like mouthfeel that transcends into the finish! This is truly a coffee we’d love our customers to associate high quality Rwandans with & we hope you will enjoy this coffee as much as we do!