TOUCHING DOWN IN THE TINY CAPITAL CITY OF BUJUMBURA, I WAS IMMEDIATELY STRUCK BY THE HEARTFELT WARMTH OF THIS SMALL LANDLOCKED COUNTRY IN THE HEART OF EAST AFRICA.

Burundi has since held a special place in my heart and I look back so fondly on the time I spent there in 2017. We have had the pleasure of featuring some incredible coffees over the past few years but have struggled to find an export partner that is actively working on prioritising the welfare and agency of the producers. Much of the coffee industry here has been privatised and is owned by foreign companies. Last year however, we started working with the social enterprise ‘Raw Material’ who donate all profits to the producers they buy from through the purchase of coffee and community investments. The Izuba Coffee Company was set up by Raw Material as the Burundian arm of their business with the sole aim of securing higher profits for both producers and employees of the company. They have constructed a centralised washing station (Izuba) to service the communities of Kigeri, Mugoyi and Ryamukona with coffee processing, distribution of seedlings, and agronomic advice to increase yield and improve quality. We have been so fortunate to have secured two lots from this station this year, a washed and a natural processed coffee.

Th is washed lot comes from the communities in Kigeri and Mugoyi. Producers delivered ripe cherry to the Izuba washing station where it was first of all floated (to sort any under/over-ripes) before being hand sorted to minimise the presence of any potato defected beans (check out this blog for more info on what we mean here!). Finally the beans were fermented for around 12 hours before being washed in channels and dried on raised beds for 20 days. In Kirundi, Izuba means ‘sun’ and the resulting cup profile of this lot certainly sings of sunshine! It is just what we need to take us through the last dark days of winter and into Spring.