The Coffee of Burundi

There's a growing region few people have tasted coffee from or even heard of, yet it has, as of late, produced coffees that are bright, nuanced, deeply flavourful and captivating; and arriving at a time of the year usually thought to be one of the toughest for vibrant, flavourful, and fruity offerings. Enter Burundi, a small, landlocked country located in the Great Rift Valley that shares borders with Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a coffee-producing region, it is still relatively new to the specialty coffee scene, nonetheless, in our opinion, Burundi produces some of the most exciting and unique flavour profiles.

These profiles share some similarities, as one would expect, with those of neighbouring countries. The brooding dark fruit and structure of Kenyan coffee; the black tea and red berry of coffee from Tanzania, and the balancing earth and zested citrus from Rwanda.

Coffee Production in Burundi

Great coffee is difficult to produce anywhere, but the quality we're starting to see in Burundi is truly inspiring given the economic and sociopolitical hardship experienced there. Burundi ranks in the bottom 10 countries in Africa, and indeed the world, in terms of development.¹ Throughout the 1990s, Burundi was mired in civil war.² As the country emerged from that conflict in the early 2000s, it looked to the success of neighbouring Rwanda’s coffee sector for inspiration. While Burundi had a history of coffee farming, it was one of deep inequality and harsh exploitation. Under Belgian colonial rule, Burundian farmers were forced to grow a minimum of 50 coffee trees each, to help satiate Europe’s thirst for coffee.³ Upon gaining independence in 1962, the production of coffee was privatized for some time, before being taken over by the state in 1976. The sector largely remained under state control until 2008, when reforms lead by the World Bank allowed for private businesses and co-ops to own mills and processing stations.⁴

Today, these washing stations and dry mills are an integral part of the Burundian coffee industry and the Burundian economy as a whole. Agriculture makes up roughly 30% of Burundi’s GDP, and coffee is the top cash crop and agricultural export.⁵ With the majority of Burundian coffee producers farming small coffee gardens, their cherries are sold onto these stations for processing. As a result, much like in Kenya and Rwanda, traceability in Burundi only tends to go as far as the station level, with coffee being brought to market under the name of the station where it was processed. These lots are made up of coffee collected from the many smallholders in the hills surrounding the station.

 Take one of our new Burundian offerings, Ngogomo as an example. The Ngogomo Central Washing Station (CWS), is one of the principal washing stations in the province of Muyinga. It serves 1,800 farmers who reside on 18 different hills. Ngogomo CWS employs strict quality control measures through sorting, de-pulping, fermentation and drying. Upon arrival at the station, cherries are de-pulped within six hours. At this point, the cherries are separated by density. Next, the coffee is fermented in water from a nearby stream. This stage is monitored regularly by agronomists to ensure proper fermentation time. Next, the coffee is placed into washing canals where they flow through wooden bars that are spaced across the channel to stop beans of specific densities, resulting in the separation of seven different grades. Lastly, the coffee is dried slowly for 2-3 weeks until it reaches a moisture content of 11.5%. All the while, pickers inspect the coffee by hand for defects that may have been previously missed.