Burundi Ngozi Red Bourbon Fully Washed

Burundi Ngozi Red Bourbon Fully Washed – Green Coffee Beans

Origin: Burundi
Region: Northern Burundi / Butanyerera
Communities: Mparamirundi, Nyanza Tuburi & Gitemezi
Producers: 60 Smallholder Farming Families
Wet Mill: Shikankoni Washing Station
Dry Mill: Ikawa Nziza
Crop: 2025/26
Species: Arabica
Variety: Red Bourbon
Altitude: 1,650–2,000 MASL
Process: Fully Washed
Fermentation: Approx. 12–18 Hours
Drying: Raised African Beds
Typical Drying Time: Approx. 20 Days
Grade: Fully Washed 15+
Screen: 15+
Tasting Notes: Apple, Chocolate, Hazelnut & Toffee
Bag: 60kg GrainPro / Ecotact
Lot: P8003235-4

This coffee comes from the highlands of northern Burundi, where just 60 smallholder farming families from the neighbouring communities of Mparamirundi, Nyanza Tuburi and Gitemezi contribute to this carefully selected lot.

Grown at elevations of approximately 1,650–2,000 metres above sea level, this coffee is produced entirely from Red Bourbon, one of the varieties most closely associated with Burundi’s specialty coffee industry. It is then fully washed and carefully dried on raised African beds to create a clean, sweet and structured cup.

High-Altitude Coffee from Northern Burundi

Burundi may be one of Africa’s smaller coffee-producing countries, but its mountainous landscape and high elevations create excellent conditions for Arabica.

The farms contributing to this lot sit between 1,650 and 2,000 MASL, where cooler temperatures slow the ripening of the coffee cherries. This gives the fruit more time to develop sweetness and acidity before harvest and can result in denser, more flavourful green coffee.

Rather than coming from one large estate, the coffee represents the combined work of a small and clearly defined group of farming families.

60 Smallholder Farming Families

This lot is produced by just 60 smallholder families across three neighbouring communities.

Coffee is an important source of income for these households, and earnings from the harvest can contribute towards everyday needs such as education, household expenses and investment back into the farm.

The relatively small producer group also gives the coffee a stronger level of traceability than a broad regional blend.

Red Bourbon

This lot is made from Red Bourbon Arabica.

Bourbon is widely grown throughout Burundi and is particularly well suited to the country’s higher elevations. When carefully cultivated and processed, it is capable of producing coffees with excellent sweetness, balanced acidity and a smooth, elegant structure.

Combined with the cool growing conditions of northern Burundi, Red Bourbon provides a strong foundation for the apple, chocolate and caramel-like qualities found in this lot.

Shikankoni Washing Station

After harvesting, ripe coffee cherries are delivered to the Shikankoni Washing Station for processing.

Centralised processing allows coffee from the 60 contributing farms to be handled using consistent quality standards.

The cherries are first placed in water to remove lower-density fruit before being carefully hand sorted.

Only the better-quality cherries continue into processing.

Fully Washed Processing

The selected cherries are depulped to remove the outer fruit before the coffee is placed into fermentation tanks.

The washed process typically involves around 12–18 hours of fermentation, helping break down the remaining mucilage surrounding the parchment.

After fermentation, the coffee is thoroughly washed with clean water and passed through washing channels, providing an additional opportunity to separate the coffee by density.

This process helps produce the clarity and structure associated with high-quality washed Burundi coffees.

Slow Drying on Raised African Beds

Once washed, the parchment coffee is transferred onto raised African drying beds.

Drying typically takes around 20 days, during which the coffee is regularly turned to encourage even moisture reduction.

Raised beds allow air to circulate both above and below the coffee, helping produce a slower and more controlled drying process.

This careful drying stage is crucial to maintaining quality and preserving the coffee’s clean, sweet character.

Final Milling at Ikawa Nziza

After drying, the coffee is prepared for export through the Ikawa Nziza dry mill.

The mill specialises in handling smaller, traceable specialty lots, allowing coffees like this one to retain their identity through the final stages of hulling, sorting and preparation.

That makes it easier to preserve the connection between the finished green coffee and the relatively small group of farmers who produced it.

Supporting Coffee-Growing Communities

The wider producer programme also works with farmers on coffee quality and long-term farm productivity.

Support can include training around selective harvesting, pruning, natural fertilisation, farm management and controlling coffee diseases.

Farmers are also paid through local microfinance institutions, helping create more secure transactions and giving producers greater access to formal savings and credit services.

The programme additionally supports initiatives around women’s participation, shade-grown coffee, reforestation and responsible water management.

In the Cup

Expect notes of:

Apple • Chocolate • Hazelnut • Toffee

The apple character gives the coffee a clean, refreshing fruit acidity.

Chocolate and hazelnut add body and familiar sweetness, while toffee brings a richer caramelised finish.

The result is a balanced and approachable Burundi with plenty of sweetness and structure, without being excessively floral or sharply acidic.

For Roasters

This coffee is particularly versatile.

A light-to-medium roast will retain more of the apple-like acidity and high-altitude character.

A medium roast will develop more chocolate, hazelnut and toffee sweetness while maintaining enough brightness to keep the cup balanced.

It should work particularly well for filter, AeroPress and pour-over, while a well-developed medium roast can also create a sweet and characterful single-origin espresso.

A Traceable Burundi Community Lot

Burundi Ngozi brings together a particularly strong combination of provenance and quality:

60 smallholder farming families, high-altitude Red Bourbon, fully washed processing, raised-bed drying and careful specialist milling.

It offers a clear connection to the communities behind the coffee while delivering a flavour profile that is sweet, approachable and unmistakably East African.

Burundi has long been overlooked in comparison to its neighbouring East African specialty coffee producing powerhouses. However, Burundi season, for us, is one of the highlights of the annual coffee calendar. The country’s coffee is produced almost entirely by smallholder farmers, and much of this small-scale production is of exceptional quality. With its super sweet, clean and often floral coffees, Burundi, every year, is increasingly is putting itself on the specialty coffee map.

Coffee is of paramount importance to families and the country at large. Considering this, improving and expanding coffee infrastructure is not just a way to improve incomes, it is a way to revolutionise the earning potential of an entire nation.

Building washing stations and expanding agricultural extension work can be great ways to improve coffee quality. Washing stations are pivotal in improving cup profile standards and the global reputation of Burundian coffee.

Both state-owned and private actors drive Burundi’s coffee industry and play key roles as washing station management companies and exporters. State-owned companies are called Sogestals, short for “Sociétés de Gestions des Stations de Lavage” (Washing station management companies). Privately-owned companies can operate under a variety of different names.

Small Batch Roasting: Roast For You Service – Terms & Conditions

Introduction

Small Batch Roasting now offers a service that offers personalised coffee roasting for customers who want to enjoy freshly roasted coffee tailored to their preferences.

Roast For You Service

When you choose to have your coffee roasted for you, we will roast the exact amount ordered and roast this for you to the selected roast profile you have chosen. Our small batch roasting process ensures that your coffee is roasted with care and precision, resulting in a high-quality, freshly roasted product.

Minimum Green Weight Requirement

Please be advised that the minimum green weight for roasting any one single origin is 6kg. Any orders placed with less than 6kg of each origin will be placed on hold and may cause delays in being dispatched. We will contact you to discuss how you wish to proceed in this case.

Weight Loss During Roasting

Please be mindful of the weight loss through moisture loss during roasting, which is typically between 12-20% depending on the level of roast. The darker the roast, the higher the moisture loss. This weight loss should be taken into account when ordering your coffee to ensure you receive the desired amount of roasted coffee.

Order Processing Time

Orders for roasted coffees will naturally take a little longer to process. Please allow a minimum of 3 days for your order to arrive from the point of order. If we are able to drop your order in the roasting schedule sooner, we will always endeavor to do so.

Mixed Orders

Mixed orders which include green and roasted coffees will be dispatched together when the roasted coffees are ready. We are unable to split these orders, so please consider the slightly longer delivery times when ordering mixed coffees.

Packaging

Your coffee will be bulk packed into a 6kg bulk bag with an identifying label on only. This packaging ensures that your coffee remains fresh and protected during transit.

Roast Profile and Liability

We will roast to your desired roast profile, but are unable to take any liability for any taste discrepancies that may arise from this. We are unable to take back any coffees once they have been roasted to your desired roast profile.

Yield Estimate

Typically, a medium roast coffee at 6kg green will yield 5.1kg of freshly roasted coffee. This estimate should be taken into account when ordering your coffee to ensure you receive the desired amount of roasted coffee.