Burundi Ntwari Natural

Burundi is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, bordered by Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Lake Tanganyika. Its population of 13.5 million makes it one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

Burundi's Muyinga Province is where JNP Coffee ventured to discover the newest washing station during the 2021 harvest season. It’s in a remote part of Burundi, at least a six-hour drive from Bujumbura, the largest city in Burundi. And that’s if the rain hasn’t made the roads impassable. Currently producing only natural coffees, this washing station is now building a new wet mill for future fully washed coffees.

We call the coffee from this new terroir Hafi, which means “close” in Kirundi. Before the washing station opened, small farmers in the area faced a 20km journey to deliver their freshly harvested cherry to the nearest wet mill. With the hilly terrain, that was too far to travel in one day. Quality standards require same-day processing for harvested cherry. A wet mill nearby makes it possible to grow this specialty coffee we treasure, which features silky smooth notes of sweet, dried cherries and blackberries.

The washing station workers at this wet mill, consisting of about 2,000 farmers, have much experience working at other wet mills and are an incredible asset for quality processing. We are looking to expand into other experimental processes with our future harvests!

Burundi is located in a mountainous area of Africa, forming part of the Albertine Rift in the Great Rift Valley. The country's nutrient-rich volcanic soil and high rainfall levels of approximately 1,200 mm per year also contribute to Burundian coffee’s distinct, intense fruit flavors and syrupy sweetness

The backbone of Burundi's coffee industry is its smallholder farmers, numbering over 800,000. Across the country, more than 25 million coffee trees are now planted on approximately 60,000 hectares.

Located near the Equator, Burundi has cooler temperatures than other tropical regions, thanks to its mountain chains and a high plateau, reaching elevations up to 9,055 feet (2,760 meters) at the peak of Mount Heha, and 6, 000 feet (1,800 meters) on the country’s southeast plateaus.

The farmers selectively hand-pick their coffee cherries when perfectly ripe and deliver them to the washing station. The cherries are carefully sorted and fully washed using the traditional Burundian "double washed" process. Fresh cherries are first pulped and then allowed to ferment in their remaining mucilage for 12 hours. They are washed in water channels and sorted for density. The selected coffee is moved to clean water tanks to ferment for up to 48 hours before being rinsed in clean water. Finally, the coffee is spread out on raised beds to dry in the sun while the moisture levels are carefully monitored.