Shyira - Espresso from Rwanda

Shyira - Espresso from Rwanda - Coffee Info

How We Prepare This Coffee

An accessible, washed coffee from the Shyria Washing Station that impresses with delicate aromatics and silky elegance, without overwhelming you with wild flavours.

For Nadja, the coffee evokes a summer morning. It's 6 a.m., the warmth is already pleasantly noticeable, but the streets are still quiet. Michel imagines himself jogging on the beach early in the morning while life slowly awakens. A light-footed summer coffee, smooth and delicate.

In the aroma we find mirabelle plums, apricots, rooibos tea, red currants and, depending on the recipe, even a touch of pineapple.

We've tried several recipes with pressure and flow profiles and discovered: this coffee doesn't need them. The two standard 9 bar profiles convinced us more than anything we tried with other methods. A satisfying result for those who can't work with flow and pressure anyway.

With all profiles, we found that shorter drink ratios and extraction times appeal to us more. They produce a denser, softer and sweeter cup.

The standard 9 bar profile (vibration pump) and slow preinfusion bring out the best in this coffee. In 26 seconds and a drink ratio of 1:2.1, we get a sweet, silky soft cup with medium body and an acidity that is high but presents itself very elegantly — and thus doesn't come across as intrusive at all. The coffee has a slight bitterness that reminds us of gooseberries, grapefruit and verjus (juice of unripe grapes). Maro Code: PXFGZDE

This subtle fruity bitterness is emphasized even more with the rotary pump recipe, which Nadja particularly likes. With the same drink ratio, we pull the shot two seconds longer to 26-28 seconds. Maro Code: ACMOMKS

Why Does This Coffee Taste the Way It Does?

The Shyira Washing Station is the officially highest-altitude processing facility in Rwanda. The coffee cherries come from altitudes of up to 2,300 m above sea level. The optimal weather conditions, soil composition and altitude provide an ideal foundation for extraordinary coffees. The complexity and the zesty, lemonade-like acidity likely come from this.

After harvesting, the cherries are depulped using the traditional "Ikininba" method. For this, people stand in fermentation tanks and trample the coffee cherries to remove the mucilage layer, freeing the coffee seeds from the cherry skin and fruit flesh. Almost like the way it's still done in certain wineries today. A process shaped by tradition and community.

The coffee is then fermented for twelve hours before it is carefully sorted and then dried on drying beds for 30-35 days.

Why Did We Purchase This Coffee?

We were able to source this coffee through Plotcoffee, who visited the Washing Station for the first time in 2024. We're sensorially well-calibrated with Plotcoffee — we find similar coffees interesting. When David showed up with a sample he'd received from Sebastian at Plotcoffee, it was immediately clear: "We need this coffee." Plotcoffee first visited the Nyabihu region two years ago and was immediately impressed by the elevation of the Washing Station and the precision with which work is carried out there.

How We Roast This Coffee

We roast the coffee as a 20kg batch on our 30kg Giesen roaster. With a total roast time of just under 11 minutes and a development time of 1:14 minutes, we bring the coffee to first crack at 09:40 minutes.

The roast starts at a charge temperature of 188.4°C and ends at 191.8°C. During the first phase, we work with high energy input to guide the coffee stably through the drying phase.

After first crack, we gradually reduce the energy and let the coffee develop in a controlled manner. The development time makes up approximately 11.5% of the total roast time.