Burundi – Gakenke – Kayanza – Microlot – Green Unroasted

Taste:  The sparkling acidity of Burundi and the incredible flavor complexity and diversity that’s possible is absolutely a product of the terroir, and the taste of the roasted bean is as beautiful and varied as the place itself.

Roast: Limiting your roast to medium (City) allows one to capture the complex flavors this bean provides.

About: Most of Burundi’s coffee is produced in the highlands of Kayanza. Located in northern Burundi along the border of Rwanda, small producers typically harvest and take cherries to community delivery sites that are all processed together at wet mills. Coffees are depulped the same day they’re picked here, and fermented underwater for 18–24 hours before being washed for about two hours. Then the coffees are spread on drying tables or raised beds, where they rest for about 20 days to dry. This washing station is part of SOGESTAL Kayanza.

Due to the small size and yield on the average coffee farm or plot, washing stations are the primary point of purchase for us in Burundi. Unlike other coffee-growing regions in Central and South America where landholdings are slightly larger and coffee-centric resources are more available, most producers do not have space on their property or the financial means to do their wet- or dry-milling. Instead, the majority of growers deliver cherry to a facility that does sorting, blending, and post-harvest processing of day lots to create different offerings.

Since 2006, our supplier has cupped coffees from more than 50 washing stations in an attempt to pinpoint those with the best practices, cleanest cups, and most high-quality nearby farms. While the logistics of buying coffees from Burundi are extremely challenging, we love the heavy figgy, fruity, and lively coffees we find here—they remind us like a Malbec, with a firm support of acidity.

We are in love with the coffees, the people, and the country of Burundi, and by continuing to invest in buying microlots from our washing-station partners, we are able to consistently offer our customers what we believe are some of the most interesting and most consistently high-cupping coffees from Africa. We see the great potential in specialty coffees in Burundi not only for their exquisite profile, which is as complex as Kenya but as versatile as a top-flight Colombian; but also for the economic possibilities that specialty coffee trade offers.

*Microlot Coffee Offerings: Farmers are paid quality premiums for any microlot coffee, which reflects the extra planning, effort, labor, and attention to detail required to produce them, as well as rewarding the ultimate job well done.

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