#00R Rwandan Decaf (Spring Water)
Medium Roast
Origin - Rwanda
Region - Horizon & Mbale Stations, Southern Province
Altitude - 1650 and 1754
Process - Sparkling Water Decaf
Varietals - Red Bourbon
Tasting notes - Lemonade, caramel and biscuit. creamy body and medium acidity
Located near Bwenda and Gitega Hills, Horizon station is in Kigoma sector, close to Huye Mountain and the town of Simbi. The station was built in 2006, but production was stopped when the original owner was arrested for his involvement in the 1994 genocide. The station remained inactive until RTC partnered with its new owner, Fdel, to resume production. Initially, the local community was skeptical of Fdel's ownership since he was not from the area. However, Fdel renamed the station "Horizon - Supreme Coffee" as a playful way to show his disagreement with the locals. This move was well-received, and the station has become a valuable asset to the community by providing jobs for local people. Currently, the station employs 94 people, with 4 working full-time, and 70% of the staff are women. The Horizon group, which is owned by Rwanda's defense ministry, specializes in infrastructure construction and repair.
Horizon is a stunning site in the Southern Province. The area is small, only 3 hectares, and it sits in a valley with steep slopes. There are pineapple plants growing on the sides, and avocado trees line the path to the site. It is located at 1680 meters, while the farms around it are higher up at around 2000 meters. There are 1200 farmers who contribute cherries to the site, and all of them have farms within 2 kilometers of the site. The average farm size is 7000 trees (3 hectares), but some farms only have 100 trees and grow other crops as well. In 2019, the site processed 450 tons of cherry, which was its first year of production. It was estimated that by the end of the 2022 season, a total of 1000 tons of cherry would be produced. All 1200 farmers are members of the ATP, and they receive organic fertilizer made from recycled cherry pulp. This fertilizer, called EM2, is created by fermenting the pulp with lime and molasses.
The green beans enter a ‘pre-treatment’ vessel where they are cleaned and moistened with water before being brought into contact with pressurised liquid carbon dioxide. When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile.
After the water has been added, the beans are then brought into contact with the pressurised liquid carbon dioxide which combines with the water to essentially form sparkling water. The carbon dioxide circulates through the beans and acts like a magnet, drawing out the mobile caffeine molecules.
The sparkling water then enters an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine rich carbon dioxide out of the water. The now caffeine free water is pumped back into the vessel for a new cycle.
This cycle is repeated until the required residual caffeine level is reached. Once this has happened, the circulation of carbon dioxide is stopped and the green beans are discharged into a drier.
The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content, after which it is ready for roasting.
There are several benefits to using this process for decaffeination:
The agent used for extracting the caffeine is entirely natural and the process can be classified as ‘organic’ due to the complete lack of chemicals used throughout. There is also no health risk by consuming coffee that has been decaffeinated in this way.
The way the process works means the other compounds in the green bean are left untouched, meaning decaffeination has no effect on the flavour and aroma of the finished product. The carbon dioxide is very selective and doesn’t extract the carbohydrates and proteins in the green bean which contribute to flavour and smell.
The cell structure of the green bean and the finished roasted bean is unchanged which is of great advantage when working with speciality coffees.
The by-products are 100% natural and recyclable.