2015 started with a bang when I got to spend a couple hours exploring the Denver coffee scene. I had a great time visiting Corvus and Phil, their roaster, hooked me up with a couple of great coffees! I reviewed the amazing Hacienda la Esmerelda, part of Corvus’s Makers Reserve series which you can read here, and today I’m looking at Cyebumba, a washed coffee from Rwanda.
Disclaimer: Corvus provided this as a complimentary sample to kccoffeegeek.com to share with readers. Corvus is not an advertiser nor is this a paid review (neither are any other reviews on this site)! Cyebumba is available here for $14 for a 12oz bag.
Corvus’s Cyebumba is an interesting coffee with an interesting story. The coffee comes from a project by sustainable Harvest and Bloomberg Philanthropies that brings women farmers in Rwanda better income, organic soil technologies and an improved business model.
This is a fully washed coffee coming from Rwanda. It’s an interesting cup because it has defined acidity but doesn’t whack me in the face with fruit flavors at the same time! Usually acidity in the cup carries fruit flavors like berries, apple, peaches and other stone fruits, etc. In this coffee, though, I get the brightness of the acidity with a somewhat “red fruit” character (sorry to be so generic, but it is what it is!) and sort of sweet, chocolaty notes. I don’t come away with a specific fruit tied to the acid like, “Oh! That’s blueberry!”
What this does in the cup is give a refreshing, bright tone while playing up the sweetness and slightly roastier side of the coffee spectrum. I find this to be an unusual mix of tones and I really like it. It’s complex and unexpected and I think it makes this Cyebumba coffee stand out because of its interesting balance. As I write this I’m drinking this coffee at room temperature and it’s still every bit as good as it was at the ideal temp, so that’s another testament to the quality of the coffee and the roast it received at Phil’s hands! Add to that the espresso and the PNG drip I had when I was in Denver and Corvus is batting a thousand right now!