Burundi | Rumanda Washed

Process | Washed

Variety | Bourbon

MASL | 2000 MASL

Red Grape | Sugar Cane Juice | Lychee 

The story of coffee in Burundi, as in many central African countries, is brief, troubled, and ongoing. The first Arabica coffee in Burundi was introduced by Belgian colonizers in the 1920s; by the mid-30s every Burundian peasant was legally obligated to grow at least fifty coffee trees. Needless to say, by the time Burundi won independence in the early 60s, maintaining the colonial rate of production was not a priority.

But coffee cultivation never entirely disappeared from Burundi, and with a liberalized coffee market, an ideal terroir for Bourbon cultivation, and processing and production techniques learned from neighboring Rwanda, Burundi has emerged in the 21st century as a high volume exporter of smallholder-grown specialty-grade coffee.

This lot, processed at the Rumanda washing station in Kayanza, is bright, sweet, and balanced - a perfect example of a modern washed Burundi coffee, and a reminder of how far the country has come in a relatively short time.