In the Grinder - Our Daily Coffee Weblog

Deep in the heart of Africa is the tiny country of Burundi and deep in Burundi is Café Imports. We have been trekking to this tiny country located south of Rwanda on Lake Tanganyika since 2006. We have logged seven trips so far and spent about two months total on the ground. We have really enjoyed passing along our findings and experience in some previous blogs from previous years.

Our many trips have not been without results. We’ve cupped coffees from more than 50 washing stations over the years, pinpointing on stations with the best cupping coffees. It was no surprise to us that our Burundian coffees won seventy five percent of the recent Prestige Cup competition that took place in Bujumbura this August.

Burundi is just south of Rwanda but miles and miles away in the cup. The two countries share much; the same tribes, the same varietals, a similar history, but the cups are not even related. This is a case of terroir. While Rwandan coffees cup with lovely sugary and lemon citrus notes, the mountains of Burundi produce a deep fig and fruity coffee –almost a Malbec of a cup highlighted by a firm supporting acidity. Washing stations around Kiryama and Kinyovu have a floral-citrus, almost tangerine acidity to compliment the underlying deep fruit, while others like Bwayi are straight on figgy compote. Why the cup varies so much from nearby southern Rwandan Butare cups I do not know. I do know, though, that the Burundi cup produces one of, if not the best, single origin espressos that I’ve pulled as the deep clean fruit along with supportive acidity and solid body make a mind blowing shot.

Coffee in Burundi is a logistics challenge--even for the best of us. It is a particularly poor country tied with Congo for the lowest GDP among African countries. The tiny land locked country also shares the same tribal conflicts that Rwanda has experienced, but unlike Rwanda, they’ve never been reconciled. AK47 gunfire and flares over Congo border the evening I was leaving on my last visit highlight ongoing simmering political tensions. In spite of all this, our work and investment on the ground over the years has allowed us to consistently get the coffees we are proud of and that many of you have grown to love.

Our first container from this year’s harvest is arriving this month and we have many of the coffees from the Prestige Cup likely arriving just after the first of the year. If you know this coffee, I’m sure you’re already in touch with us for new crop and if you do not, I am sure it is a cup that you’ll know soon.

Some additional random notes:

Varietals
- Bourbon
- Jackson (Bourbon varietal)
- Mibirzi (Bourbon varietal)

Processing
Traditional Burundian processing methods are used by the cooperatives/washing stations that we are buying from. This method is where the coffee is pulped and “dry fermented” up to twelve hours before being fully washed with clean mountain water from twelve to twenty four hours and then finally soaked for an additional twelve to eighteen hours before being dried in parchment on raised beds, called African beds in Central American. I got laughs in Kenya many years ago when I referred to the raised beds that way!

Geography and Altitude
Coffee is produced across the country from 750 meters outside Bujumbura to 2000 meters in the northern areas of Kayanza and Ngozi--our personal two favorite areas. We have been buying from 1700 to 2000 meter coffees for many years.
 

According to Rueters "Burundi coffee revenue is up almost 400% compared to last year...early estimates predicted Burundi's crop to yield $81.6 Million, but the actual totals are closer to $83 Million."

This is amazing for the tiny country of Burundi that we are intimately involved with and have been for the past 6 years.  Jason has invested a huge amount of time and energy into helping develop the Burundi program we are so proud of at Cafe Imports.  While the revenue jump is partly due to the higher market levels; the higher prices do not account for the majority of the 400% growth in Burundi.  This country had an excellent harvest year and really utilized continued investment in coffee infastructure over the past several years. 

We are extremely happy for Burundi.  Nearly 10% of the total population of Burundi works in coffee farming in one way or another, almost 800,000 people.  90% of all export revenues in the entire country come from coffee, so supporting this country's coffee is literally saving their lives.  Rebuilding after a nearly 12 year long civil war that ended in 2005, coffee has been the main factor in the recovery and healing process.  The average GDP per capita in Burundi in 2009 was shockingly low, about $170 according to the IMF.  We believe this increased revenue and huge success of 2010/2011 crop is a step in the right direction to improving the lives of the people of Burundi.

Thank you for supporting the coffee farmers of Burundi!  We are going to continue to do everything we can to help these amazing people further develop more and better coffee for the years to come!

-The Cafe Imports Team