Berries, Lemon, Dark Chocolate

Producer: Small Holders Farmers
Origin: Ngozi, Burundi
Varietal: Bourbon
Elevation: 1700 masl

This natural lot is sourced from Tuvugirikawa co-op (meaning "plea for coffee farmers"). The co-op was founded in 2008 by small holder farmers in the community and they built their own washing station in 2014. As of 2016 the co-op is affiliated with the COCOCA union who provide inputs and extension services to members, who now number 692.

This lot is milled and exported by Ikawa Nziza which began in 2013 as a partnership between the owners of Cafex mill and Schluter (now Covoya Europe), specifically aimed at building and promoting the specialty coffee production in Burundi. Ikawa Nziza’s mill is the first purpose-built specialty drymill in Burundi, situated at altitude and designed to cater for high-quality microlot coffees.

The Process

Ripe cherries (superior quality) are selected from daily pickings, and sun-dried on raised African beds, being turned every 2 hours for the initial days for even fermentation, and covered during the midday heat to prevent sun damage. The drying process takes an average of 22 days.

Once optimum moisture levels have been reached, the coffee is transported for milling at Ikawa Nziza’s drymill in Gashoho commune between the towns of Ngozi and Muyinga. The mill is designed to cater to small, traceable microlots. Its location in a high altitude (1,730masl) and low humidity environment provides the optimal environment to preserve the quality of the coffee and therefore demand higher prices for farmers. From there the processed coffee is handpicked, bagged in Grainpro and then trucked to Mombasa for shipment.

History of Coffee in Burundi

During colonization, Belgians forced the people of Burundi to grow coffee to pay taxes, an all too familiar story. So, it is understandable that after independence, the farmers of Burundi were less than enthusiastic about growing coffee and there was almost no focus on quality. When world coffee prices dropped to historic lows 20 years ago, prices paid to farmers by government run washing stations were so low that coffee was smuggled into neighboring countries to be sold as Rwandan or Tanzanian coffee. When prices began to rise and become relatively stable, Burundi coffee farmers in the northern highlands did not forget that Rwanda received better prices for quality. The coffee farmers of Burundi began to emulate some of what was happening in Rwanda, forming cooperatives and seeking ways to improve quality