Kirambo Filter
Kirambo Filter
Reserva coffees are selected micro-lots chosen for their exceptional quality and expressive character.
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Kirambo Filter
Rwanda has ideal conditions for growing coffee, including high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils, and an abundance of the Bourbon coffee bean variety. Most of the country's coffee is produced by an estimated half-million smallholder farmers, each with land often no larger than one hectare.
Coffee is grown throughout Rwanda, with large concentrations of farms located along Lake Kivu and in the southern province. Smallholders are organized into cooperatives and share the use of centralized wet-mills, also known as washing stations. Coffee plants flower between September and October, and the harvest takes place from March to July. Shipments of coffee begin in August and continue through December.
The Kirambo coffee washing station, built in 2008, is situated on a hill with land that extends to the shores of Lake Kivu. For many years, the station struggled due to a lack of working capital and was rented out to different operators annually. This prevented farmers from having a consistent partner to support them beyond simply buying their coffee cherries.
In 2017, RTC purchased the Kirambo station and began operating it for the first time during the 2018 season. That year, all farmers were registered to participate in RTC's farmer impact programs and certification training. The high quality of the coffee and the cooperative nature of the farmers at Kirambo have allowed RTC to produce excellent fully washed and natural coffees.
Upon delivery to the Kirambo station, coffee cherries are floated and separated to remove any defective ones. The coffee is then spread on raised African beds in a layer about 2cm thick, where it is dried for up to 30 days. During this time, the coffee is turned hourly and covered at night.
Introducing our new defrosted date!
We believe in trying to preserve the taste of our coffees as long as we can. For our Reserva coffees, we will freeze some bags the same day as roasting. This preserves the coffee from the original roast date. When we remove the bag from the freezer, we will handwrite a new date that it was removed, essentially creating a new roast date. When possible, these coffees will come straight out of the freezer before shipping. If there was no handwritten date, the coffee was never frozen. Please remember, it’s best your coffee rests for 1 to 2 weeks after roasting before consumption.
Brew Guide
Grind Size
Grind size is important and varies from grinder to grinder. Below we suggest a rating from 1 to 10. 1 = extremely fine, too fine. 10 = very coarse, too coarse.
Pour-Over with Filter (V60/Chemex)
Coffee Grind 6-7
We use 15 grams of coffee with 250 grams of 95 degree water.
Wet the filter with hot water and discard the water.
Pour 40 grams of water onto the coffee to bloom and give the brewer a gentle swirl, wait 30 seconds
Add another 40 grams of water and give it another gentle swirl, wait 30
seconds
Slowly add 85 grams more water and give another gentle swirl
Finally slowly add the remainder water and give a final gentle swirl
The water should filter through and have a flat base of coffee with only
fines stuck to the upper filter wall.
Aeropress (non inverted)
Coffee Grind 5-6
We use 15 grams of coffee with 200 grams of 95 degree water.
Add the coffee to the AeroPress, then pour all the water to the AeroPress and give it a quick swirl with a spoon.
Put the AeroPress plunger into the top of the AeroPress about 1 cm and then pull back slightly to create a vacuum.
Let the coffee steep for 1:30.
Slowly plunge the AeroPress for 30 seconds ending at a total brew time of 2 minutes.
Moka Pot
Coffee Grind 3-4
Depending on the size of the Moka pot will dictate how much coffee to use.
Boil some water in a kettle and warm your element to medium low.
Fill the Moka water chamber to just below the steam spout with your
boiled water, make sure not to cover it.
Place the coffee in the basket and level it off, do not pack it down.
Place the basket in the Moka pot and screw the lid on.
Place the Moka pot on the element and open the lid of the Moka pot.
Let the coffee brew and it will rise to the upper chamber and make a
hissing sound when it is done.
Remove it from the element, close the lid and serve.
French Press
Coffee Grind 8-9
We use 75 grams per litre (depending on the size of your French Press).
Put the coffee on the French Press.
Pour the required amount of 95 degree water and let it steep for 4
minutes.
Use a spoon to break the crust and let the coffee fall to the bottom of
the vessel.
Put the French press lid on and only plunge to the top of the water.
Let the coffee steep for another 5 minutes.
Push down the plunger ¾ of the way, never touching the coffee bed on
the bottom.
Pour your coffee.
Espresso
Coffee Grind 2-3
Depending on your basket size will depend on the amount of coffee to use.
We use 18 grams of coffee to yield about 36 grams of coffee.
Your brew should take between 27-33 seconds to pour according to your taste preference. The longer amount of time the more extracted and possibly bitter it could be. The shorter amount of time could result in under-extracted, lighter body and possibly sour tasting coffee.