BoR RWANDA #16

Mahembe Farm, Nyarubuye Washing Station — Karongi, Best of Rwanda 2024

This lot was grown on Mahembe farm and processed at the Nyarubuye washing station in Karongi District, in Rwanda's Western Province on the shores of Lake Kivu. Coffee here grows at roughly 1,800–2,000 meters above sea level, on the same volcanic, terraced hillsides that make the Lake Kivu basin one of Rwanda's most productive coffee zones. Like most lots from this part of the country, it's named for the washing station rather than a single grower: cherry from smallholder farms in the surrounding hills converges at Nyarubuye to be pulped, fermented, and dried as one traceable batch, which is what lets a lot like this carry a specific score instead of a generic country blend rating.

The variety is Red Bourbon, descended from the coffee German missionaries first planted at Mibirizi mission in 1904 before cultivation spread north to the Lake Kivu region and eventually across the country. More than a century later it's still Rwanda's dominant variety, prized for balanced acidity and a naturally sweet, floral-leaning cup — exactly the register this lot delivers.

At the 2024 Best of Rwanda competition, this lot scored 87.86 points and placed sixteenth nationally out of hundreds of samples submitted that cycle. Best of Rwanda is run by NAEB, the country's National Agricultural Export Development Board: entries are cupped and scored anonymously by a trained panel, only the highest scorers make the published ranking, and those lots then go to a public online auction — hosted via the M-Cultivo platform in 2024 — where roasters from around the world bid directly on specific, numbered lots rather than buying an anonymous country blend. DABOV bought this lot at that auction.

We're naming the harvest year deliberately: this is a 2024-cycle result, and Best of Rwanda runs every year with an entirely new set of lots and scores.

Caramel, Blackcurrant, Blueberry

Washed processing strips away the fruit pulp before drying, so what comes through in the cup is the bean's own sugars and acidity rather than fermentation-driven fruit funk — that's exactly what you'd expect from a fully washed Red Bourbon like this one. Caramel sweetness sits underneath, blackcurrant brings a tart, wine-toned middle, and the finish leans into ripe blueberry that lingers well past the last sip.

Body is medium, acidity is bright without being sharp, and the sweetness is pronounced enough to carry the coffee well black — this isn't a lot that needs milk to taste balanced. A light roast keeps all three notes distinct rather than letting roast-driven caramelization flatten them into generic chocolatey territory, which is the usual risk with a darker roast on a coffee this clean.

Rwandan Red Bourbon tends to land between East African brightness and Central American roundness, and this cup is a good example why: fruit-forward enough to reward a slow pour-over, sweet and mellow enough that it doesn't demand the delicate handling a washed Ethiopian or Kenyan lot would. It's a fitting neighbor for the other lots in our Bright & Fruity lineup.

Pour-Over, With a French Press Backup

Ratio: 1:16 (coffee to water by weight).

Grind: Medium-fine for pour-over, matching a texture close to table salt.

Water temperature: 200°F (93°C).

Time: 2:30 to 3:00 total brew time, pouring in slow, even stages rather than one continuous pour.

Pour-Over

A clean pour-over is the best way to let the caramel and blackcurrant notes come through without being muddied — this is a washed coffee built for clarity, and pour-over is the method that shows clarity off best.

French Press

If you want more body and a rounder mouthfeel, a French press works well too: coarse grind, 1:15 ratio, four minutes steeped before pressing. It softens the acidity slightly and pushes the caramel sweetness forward, at the cost of some of the blueberry brightness you'd get from a filter.

Store the bag whole-bean, sealed, and out of direct light and heat, and grind only what you're about to brew — Red Bourbon's sweetness and blackcurrant tartness both fade fastest once the beans are ground.

Did You Know

• BoR stands for Best of Rwanda, the country's own national coffee competition and auction — a separate program from Cup of Excellence, run by Rwanda's National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) rather than the Alliance for Coffee Excellence.

• Red Bourbon makes up roughly 95% of Rwanda's Arabica trees. The variety traces back to 1904, when German missionaries planted the country's first coffee trees at Mibirizi mission near Lake Kivu — more than a century later, it's still the backbone of nearly every Rwandan lot, including this one.

• Most Rwandan lots are named for a washing station, not a single farm. Nyarubuye, where this coffee was processed, receives cherry from smallholders around Mahembe rather than one large estate — that's the norm across Rwanda's coffee-growing hills, not an exception.

• The 2024 Best of Rwanda auction totaled just over $165,000 across 19 lots, averaging $11.42 per pound — modest next to the prices some Cup of Excellence auctions have fetched elsewhere, a reminder that competition coffee doesn't have to be eye-wateringly expensive to be genuinely scored and traceable.

• Karongi District sits on the shores of Lake Kivu, whose volcanic soil and terraced hillsides make the whole lakeside basin one of Rwanda's most productive coffee zones.

What does BoR mean on this coffee?

BoR stands for Best of Rwanda, the national coffee competition and online auction run by Rwanda's National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). It's a separate program from Cup of Excellence, though both work the same basic way: cup, score, rank, then sell the winning lots directly to bidding roasters.

Is Best of Rwanda the same as Cup of Excellence?

No — they're separate competitions run by different organizations, Rwanda's NAEB versus the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, though both follow the same model of anonymous cupping, published rankings, and a public auction for the winning lots. This coffee is a Best of Rwanda lot specifically, not a Cup of Excellence one.

How does the Best of Rwanda auction work?

Samples are cupped and scored anonymously by a trained jury, the highest scorers are published as a ranked list, and those specific lots go up for bid on an online auction platform. Roasters worldwide — DABOV included — bid directly on named lots rather than buying an anonymous country blend.

What does this coffee taste like?

It's caramel-sweet up front with a tart blackcurrant middle and a blueberry-toned finish, the product of washed processing on a Red Bourbon variety — clean and fruit-forward without the funk you'd get from a natural-processed lot.

Why is this coffee priced lower than some other competition lots?

Best of Rwanda's 2024 auction averaged $11.42 per pound across its 19 lots — a genuinely competitive, scored coffee, from an auction that hasn't drawn the same bidding intensity some Cup of Excellence lots see in other countries.

How should I brew a Rwandan competition lot like this one?

Pour-over shows it off best: a 1:16 ratio, medium-fine grind, and 200°F water, poured slowly. A French press is a good alternative if you want more body and don't mind trading away a little of the blueberry brightness.