Beautiful coffees from Kanzu, a famous washing station located on the shores of Lake Kivu in southwestern Rwanda, have been well loved highlights of Passenger’s Reserve Lot menu for a number of years. This limited release - carefully preserved in our frozen archive since this coffee was retired from the menu - represents the 2019 harvest at Kanzu.

The name Kanzu, as a quick tour of specialty roasters’ menus in late autumn and winter will invariably confirm, has become virtually synonymous with high quality coffee from Rwanda thanks to the success that this washing station has consistently achieved in recent years. This was not always the case. As recently as 10 years ago, the coffees from Kanzu were frustratingly inconsistent: sometimes unbelievably good, sometimes quite disappointing. A positive development from the quality consistency standpoint occurred in 2012 when the washing station was purchased by C. Dorman of Nairobi, a storied name in East African coffee. Since the change in ownership, Kanzu has produced excellent coffees year after year, solidifying its reputation as the perennial source of some of the finest coffees in Rwanda.

Ripe coffee cherry is delivered daily to the Kanzu station during the harvest season (lots are generally numbered according to their date of delivery). The coffee is pulped using disc pulping machine after which it is fermented for upwards of 24 hours. After fermentation, the coffee is washed in long channels, soaked once more overnight, and finally spread out to dry on raised beds. The result is a crystalline representation of Rwandan terroir and heirloom Bourbon plant genetics.