Rwanda- Rulinda Murambi

This one caught us off guard. East Africa is where our heart is, and we cup a lot of Rwanda, so it takes something to genuinely surprise us. This did. It ticked every box we have. We bought what we could get, which was not much, and we're glad to have it on the shelf while it lasts.

It's the work of 170 smallholder farmers in Rwanda's Gatsibo District, growing between 1,600 and 1,786 meters and carrying their cherries to the Murambi washing station. Most tend just a few acres, small family plots often intercropped with beans, all of it pooled into something with real clarity in the cup.

Processing is classic Rwandan washed. Cherries are hand sorted and floated to pull anything underripe, fermented, then soaked and run through grading channels before a slow 14 to 21 day dry on raised beds. It drinks bright and layered: lemonade sweetness up front, a pop of Rainier cherry, graham cracker warmth on the finish.