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93

Zingerman's Coffee

Rwandan

Roaster Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Coffee Origin: Rwanda.
Roast Level: Medium-Dark
Agtron: 43/56
Review Date: June 2009
Aroma: 9
Acidity: 9
Body: 9
Flavor: 9
Aftertaste: 9

Blind Assessment

Co-cupper Jim Reynolds and Ken both admired this coffee, but Ken, at 90, was less admiring than Jim at 95. Essentially, Jim found everything he wanted in an African coffee of this style - a combination of complexity, balance and deep dimension - whereas Ken liked what he found but wanted more of it, more intensity and a more pronounced, distinctive character. Both admired a bright, citrusy but delicate acidity, silky mouthfeel, and a mildly pungent chocolate that Jim described as "smoky chocolate" and Ken as "cocoa and aromatic wood." Jim found the aftertaste "lingering," Ken found it pleasing but short.

Notes

Rwanda's tremendous potential as fine coffee producer has only come to fruition over the past four to five years owing to generous support from international aid agencies, the specialty coffee community and the industry of its growers. This coffee, from the Bufcafe (also Bufcoffee) Cooperative, is produced entirely from trees of the heirloom Bourbon variety of Arabica. Zingerman's Coffee is a specialty roasting company associated with Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, praised as "one of the top 25 food markets in the world" by Food & Wine magazine. It offers a relatively small but sensitively sourced and roasted menu of specialty coffees. Visit www.zingermanscoffee.com or call 734-929-6060 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

A darkish (but not dark) roast style is felt but not tasted in this subtly complex Bourbon-style Africa coffee, making it a cup both comfortable yet distinctive.

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This review originally appeared in the June, 2009 tasting report: Alternative Africas: Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania

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About the Author: Kenneth Davids

Kenneth Davids is editor, chief writer and co-founder of Coffee Review. His latest book, 21st Century Coffee: A Guide is an unprecedentedly thorough survey of specialty coffee in all of its aspects, authoritative yet engaging. He has been involved with coffee since the early 1970s and has published three earlier books on coffee, including the influential Home Roasting: Romance and Revival, now in its second edition, and Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying, which has sold nearly 250,000 copies in five editions..

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