Hits: 44
Beans: Muhondo, Red Bourbon, Natural, Gakenke, Rwanda.
Shop: Audun Coffee, webshop, Poland.
Audun Coffee: Background information.
Audun Coffee ‘Muhondo’ was roasted by Norwegian roaster Audun Sorbotten. Audun started his career at the oldest Norwegian roastery Solberg & Hansen and it was there that he really started loving coffee for what it is; complex, flavorful and diverse.
In 2011 and 2012, Audun was part of the Solberg & Hansen-team that became the Nordic roasting champion and in 2015, after moving to Poland, he became the roasting champion of the world.
When I contacted Audun about reviewing his coffee, the thing that stood out was the fact that he never changes his roasting techniques. The Norwegian roasting style is what he perfected and what his clients expect of him. In turn, Audun wants to roast coffees form all over the world and roast them as best as he can. These two things combined make him one of the most sought after roasters in the world. The moment I wrote about reviewing his coffee’s, a Hong Kong based follower on Instagram told me he missed drinking his coffee. That says a lot I guess?
The Muhondo coffee was processed at the Muhondo washing station, a station picked by the 1000 Hils product organisation in Rwanda.
Muhondo CWS is a Private Coffee Washing Station located in Muhondo Sector, Gakenke District in Northern Province. The Washing station started to be fully operative by Muhondo Coffee Company in 2013. The coffee washing station is on a small scale but has tremendously impacted the local communities through youth and women employments, contribution to farmer’s income and community involvement through social project initiated such as farmer’s loan and clean Water Supply. Muhondo is committed to produce the highest quality of coffee in Rwanda and empowering coffee growers by providing them with best practices. The coffee washing station works closely with 1800 farmers and around 40% farmers are women combined with the production from its own plantation of 30,000 Coffee Producing trees which all are carefully picked by hand. The topography conditions that gives coffee its uniqueness to win. Rwanda Cup of Excellence 2014 as Presidential winner with a score of 91% and for the 3rd Place in 2015 with 89.89.
The coffee was grown at an altitude between 1700 and 2000 meters above sea level. The washing station accommodates around 1800 farmers and produce up to 1000 tons of coffee. The sorting is done by hand and the station uses around 200 drying beds.
Muhondo: Opening the package.
Audun Coffee comes in a black bag with black and white logo on the front. The fun thing is that the design of the logo will change with each coffee you buy. In total, I received four coffees with four different logo’s.
On the coffee there is information about the process, the varieties, the name of the coffee and the origin. Obviously, the package has a ziplock and degassing valve to keep the coffee as fresh as possible.
When opening the package, there is an aroma coming out that is full on fruity with a hint of vanilla. The coffee looks evenly roasted and there are no defects in the bag. The beans are crispy but not too hard and give off a slight bitterness when eating it. In the aftertaste of the bean you will find a sweet fruity flavour, a bit like berries and a hint of pot pourri floral notes. Grinding the coffee gives off a firm aroma of sweetness, grain and fruits.
Audun coffee – Muhondo: The Tasting.
I have reviewed this coffee on the Hario V60, Aeropress and Siphon brewer. This coffee tastes great on every brewer, I don’t have a clear favourite as this coffee tastes great on all of them.
When you brew the Rwanda Muhondo I recommend that you start smelling the hot steam right away. Keep taking in the aroma’s while you drink this coffee because it has a lot to offer on the nose.
When the coffee is hot, there is a clear aroma of vanilla that is accompanied by a mixture of blackberry, apricot and perhaps a hint of peach. Perhaps peach since this part of the aroma was very faint.
When the coffee cools doen there is a floral note that pops up that I defined as Hibiscus; I think that this aroma definitely has something to do with the pot pourri flavour that I got when eating the bean itself.
When the coffee cools down even more, there will be hints of soft caramel together with a cedar note and sugared vanilla tea. The vanilla is noticeable throughout the tasting process and is more floral than extract like. I just cant stop taking in aroma’s of this coffee haha.
When you first take a sip I want you to pause and really focus on the flavours in your mouth. Notice how this is full on fruity with a soft chocolate undertone? This flavour reminded me of a mixture of blackberry, blueberry. The chocolate is not a creamy milk chocolate but a little rougher. Already the Muhondo is super sweet and juicy! wow!
Now slurp the oxygen inside and swirl the coffee round in your mouth.
There is a hefty beautiful plum and dried apricot popping up in your mouth that pushes away the blueberry/blackberry aspect. Your mouth will respond this by making even more saliva, increasing the sweetness.
By now you will have noticed the warm, degassed cola mouthfeel that this coffee gives off. The citric acidity reminds me of yellow apple which is subtle and feel pleasantly in my mouth, especially with that ridiculously intense sweetness of the Muhondo.
The coffee is cooled down a little more and the plum and apricot will now have pushed away the berries almost totally. The aftertaste of previous sips will begin to grow in the back of your mouth and you will notice how there are flavours of cola, chocolate, vanilla and fruitiness appearing in the back of your mouth. Meanwhile this sweetness has not disappeared at all but you will also find a hint of clove in the background.
Muhondo: The Tasting.
I guess you already noticed something about this coffee: it’s sweet and fruity and I love it! Without hesitation I can say that this coffee is the best Rwanda I have ever had. There is nothing bad to say about this coffee except for one thing: There is only so much to be had in a day!
Audun has once again delivered a gorgeous coffee and I dare to say that his skills as a roaster really came through on this Rwanda. The fruity notes are all in balance and the sweetness is what carries this coffee. The yellow apple acidity in combination with the warm degassed cola mouthfeel go together so good! What else is there to say? Hands down a gem of a coffee!