Region: Gatara Commune, Kayanza Province

Washing Station: Gakenke

Main Hills: Musonge, Munyinya, Gatabo

Statistics: 2,685 smallholder farmers / 672,350 coffee trees

Altitude: 1,670 masl

Variety: Red Bourbon

Tasting notes: Limeade, black cherry, plum, mandarin orange, thyme

Like our other Burundian and Rwandan coffees from this year and last, this lot comes to us from our importer partner Sucafina. Although Sucafina is one of the largest exporters in East Africa, they are still a family run business that has made huge investments in sustainability. They founded a non-profit called The Kahawatu Foundation to manage these sustainability efforts: from savings and micro-loan programs, to women led co-ops, soil analysis and organic manure production, to gender and youth workshops. The infrastructure for seedling production and processing are modern and well cared for and farmers’ lots are fully traceable through proprietary software.

This particular lot comes 3 large hills in the famed Kayanza growing region where Burundi’s highest cupping coffees are found and is processed at the Gakenke washing station. It is sweet, syrupy, and complex with soda-like citrus up front, stone fruit as it cools, and a subtle herbaceous note throughout.