Distinct (adjective) – /dəˈstiNG(k)t/
1. Recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type.
Specialty coffee is an industry because every coffee experience is distinct. In cupping, we note distinctness. Every roast profile and brew recipe reveals new flavor expressions iterating a coffee’s unique journey. And it is captivating.
Burundian coffee is distinct. Claudia Bellinzoni (E. Africa Green Buyer) notes, “I love the cup profile; they are my favorite coffees. When good, Burundi coffee is outstanding.” She also notes that sourcing in Burundi is a challenge. With fresh-crop coffees afloat, let’s explore what makes Burundi distinctive, a quality we first discovered in 2006.
Jason (CEO, SVP of Sourcing) reflecting on our earliest sourcing in Burundi.
Twenty years ago, Burundi wasn’t marketing specialty coffee. Buyers weren’t asking for it, but it was being produced. A ceasefire had just been signed to end the devastating Burundi Civil War, but sporadic violence and political struggle continued. Jason Long (CEO, SVP of Sourcing) cupped Burundian samples and booked a flight to the country for the first time.
Volatility and violence have marred the nation since 1922, when the Belgian League of Nations mandated the Ruanda-Urundi territory and colonists forced bourbon seedlings into smallholders’ fields.
Although Burundi and Rwanda gained independence in 1962, Burundi’s history is a timeline of coups, power shifts, and racial tension largely ignored by Western governments.
Nemba Washing Station
The fertile rolling mountains and high plateaus in Northern Burundi are ideal for growing coffee. Belgian settlers were right about that. Since the 1930s, coffee has been the nation’s most critical export, and its commerce has fluctuated between national control, private control, or a mix of both.
After gaining independence, farmers abandoned coffee in defiance of their former rulers, and productivity fell. In the 1980s, the World Bank financed the construction of approximately 150 washing stations, a significant step to improve quantity and quality, leading us back to Jason in 2006.
Nemba Washing Station
He requested pre-ship samples after picking Burundi on a map by tracing the Rift Valley south from Ethiopia. Jason was five years into sourcing, and Cafe Imports was 13 years old. We were still a tiny Midwest importer, but our palates and the specialty coffee industry were growing.
The distinctiveness of coffee and terroir was novel, so we would cup everything we could.
Some of those first samples cupped an incredible 86 points, but the country’s coffee was sold under C-Market pricing, reflecting the state of the industry in Burundi—unknown potential procrastinated by societal upheaval. Jason traveled to Burundi, cupped with exporters, and filled three containers of coffee from the Kayanza region, paying 34 cents over C-price. This would be one of, if not the first-ever specialty coffee imported to the U.S. from Burundi.
From 1991 to 2008, the Burundian government gripped the supply chain. They owned all washing stations, called Sogestals, and coffee was sold through an auction system to control the floor price. In the two seasons following 2006, we bought more and more coffee, and the rest of the world caught on, too.
Burundi’s leaders saw the opportunity. In 2008, they privatized the coffee sector to help stabilize a war-torn economy through new investment and greater competition. Exporters and cooperatives purchased washing stations and dry mills from the state and built new ones. Entities like the World Bank, USAID, CQI, and many others funded productivity programs over the next decade, and farmers replanted coffee.
More Sogestals operated by more suppliers diversified the coffees that made it to market. Throughout the nation’s drying beds, honey and naturally processed coffees appeared alongside Burundi’s signature double-washed coffee. Even though farm-level sourcing was still impossible, Jason would visit the washing stations and dry mills, cup smaller lots, and put premiums toward a wider selection of stand-out coffees.
Sehe Washing Station, 2018
Sehe Washing Station, 2018
Claudia joined Cafe Imports in 2017 as the East African coffee buyer, and the following three years marked one of Burundi’s most productive spans. By 2019, 283 washing stations were in operation, owned by around 40 exporters, 70% of them private. Then, a 1-2 punch of climate change and coronavirus hit in 2020, and hard.
Arrhythmic periods of heavy rains and intense droughts cut production by a quarter in 2021, and we haven’t seen 2019 numbers since. A fuel shortage slowed cherry and parchment delivery in-country and milled coffee out. Export fees rocketed by nearly 350%. A new president took office in 2020 and immediately nationalized all washing stations. The coffee we previously purchased was lost to bulk blending while exporters and cooperatives were dissolving and fleeing. Our buying options had narrowed.
Masha Washing Station
Fortunately, we met Greenco in 2021. We rely on this trusted exporter, composed of locals passionate about their country and the 60,000+ producers they serve. In addition to focusing on quality processing to help find the best price for coffee, they run many programs across the communities where they purchase cherries.
According to their reports, the most recent harvest seems to have had higher yields, and we’ve contracted exceptional coffees from 10 washing stations. High demand, more favorable weather (still slightly less rain than usual), and strict processing were reflected in tangible results—farmers saw their average cherry price increase by 18% in 2024 compared to the year prior. Hopefully, this signifies an upward trend for the coming spring harvest.
History tends to repeat itself in Burundi. Any year may bring inconsistent seasonality, new policies or governance, fuel shortages, and more. Every power shift has turned the coffee industry on its head while Western powers have ignored, under-supported, or exploited Burundi. Smallholder farmers, who comprise 80% of the population, suffer most from this volatility. 87% of the country’s citizens live below the World Bank’s poverty line. Approximately 600,000 smallholder coffee farmers, 95% in poverty, each cultivate an average of 200 trees on 0.12 hectares.
When we asked Claudia what makes Burundian coffees distinct, though, she specified:
“Amazing body with orange or citrus notes, almond, and very chocolaty. Tropical jammy notes and floral, with a long aftertaste. Very balanced and uniform coffees, great in espresso as well as filter. I just love them.”
-Claudia Bellinzoni
Masha Washing Station
She loves visiting, too. Reflecting on past sourcing trips, she described:
“When you arrive at washing stations, they sometimes organize beautiful traditional dances with drummers. People are very welcoming, like in the rest of Africa. The landscape, the country, the hills, the light, the weather…it’s just so beautiful.”
-Claudia Bellinzoni
Sehe Washing Station, 2018
The flavor profile reflects the land’s beauty, the individuals who cultivate it, and the exporter supporting it, regardless of socio-political circumstances. If you’ve had coffee from here, it has likely left its imprint on you. Our history with Burundi taught us that the cup has always been distinct, but support for the grower has not been. That’s why we’ll always source coffee from Burundi, seeking progress, as grateful for this year’s import as we were for the first one in 2006.
The currently afloat coffees come from ten Greenco washing stations and were divided among our three global offices.
We invite you to view the offerings, learn more about the washing stations and locales, and get in touch with us.