Burundi Businde

COUNTRY: Burundi REGION: Muyinga, Kayanza FARM: Businde Washing Station VARIETY: Bourbon PROCESS: Washed ELEVATION: 1650-1800 M CUPPING NOTES: Orange, Caramel, Lime Matsitsi Trading was started by Matsitsi Zuberi in 2015 with a simple goal: produce great specialty coffee in Burundi. The company runs three washing stations, two in Kayanza province and one in Muyinga province. These stations are all built with solid processing infrastructure and a real commitment to traceability. They also put genuine effort into the communities around them, with projects like wastewater treatment and composting spent coffee pulp rather than letting it go to waste. Businde Washing Station sits in the northern province of Kayanza and works with around 650 smallholder farmers who live within about three miles of the station. Matsitsi pays 20% above the going market rate for quality cherry, and Businde's permanent staff take home nearly 60% more than the typical casual labor wage which is a meaningful difference in the region. Cherries that come through the station get the full quality focused treatment: careful fermentation, followed by 20 days drying on raised African beds. The result is truly exceptional coffee. In the cup we find a juicy sweetness of orange and caramel with a sparkle of lime. This is a tasty and lively summertime coffee that brews up great hot or iced!