Burundi Mbirizi Gatara

Whole bean coffee. 

Mbirizi is a communal washing station in the Gatara Commune, located high in the mountains of the Kayanza province of Burundi. The washing station, owned by Salum Ramadhan, serves thousands of smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate and harvest just a few hundred coffee trees. Farmers deliver their harvested cherries to the washing station, often on foot or by bicycle. At the washing station, coffees are sorted by the farmers on raised tables through a rigorous process in which cherries are floated and hand sorted. The depulped coffee undergoes a double (dry and wet) fermentation process before soaking.

Burundi is a lesser known region than some of its African neighbors. But producer and washing stations such as Mbirizi are increasingly presenting some fabulous an intriguing coffees.

This particular lot had us at first taste. From our very first sample roast, we tasted a intriguing and complex set of flavors, all working together to make for a novel and exciting offering. The coffee has bright citrus notes, with a hint of brown sugar, and a sweet black tea. It's an exciting and rare offering!

• Origin: Mbirizi washing station, Gatara Commune, Kayanza Province, Burundi
  
• Farmer: Coffee producers associated with the Mbirizi Washing Station
  
• Process: Fully washed and dried on raised beds
  
• Varieties: Batian, Jackson, K7, Mbirizi 49, Mbirizi 68, SL28
  
• Altitude: 1,750 - 1,850 masl
• What we taste: Orange, Brown Sugar, Hibiscus, Black Tea