Burundi 
Gihere
Ngozi
1650-1950 masl
Bourbon
Natural

Blueberry pie, wine gums, and dark choc.

All aboard: Gihere Central Washing Station is a hub for over 1,600 smallholder coffee producers in Burundi's Ngozi region. The average farmer here owns just 250 trees. A tiny operation compared to larger coffee farms, so it makes practical sense for smallholder farmers to bring their fresh cherry to centralised washing stations for processing like Gihere (rather than other parts of the world where bigger farms process coffee onsite).

Set up in 1984, Gihere Central is well-established and has evolved and adapted to handle local idiosyncrasies and increasing demand. With over 200 drying tables and proper soaking and floating tanks, Gihere can process close to 20,000 bags of coffee in a season!

An intrinsic establishment: The Gihere washing station has helped smallholder farmers access vital resources like capital, education, and infrastructure, all of which have significantly improved smallholder farmers' coffee quality and livelihoods. Once the coffee is dried, it's taken to Gitega, the capital city, for dry milling and export.

What's a blended micro-lot?: The small size of farms means that centralised washing stations play a crucial role in creating select blended coffee lots. This becomes a necessity in opening up these coffees to international markets, and although the act of blending microlots makes it difficult to trace coffees back to individual farmers (with lots typically sold under the name of the washing station), the transparency on these coffees remains extremely high. Microlots are selected and blended based on quality and compatibility, with the ultimate goal of ensuring high-calibre coffee is not diluted with anything of lesser quality. 

Ngozi, a coffee growing hotspot: Located in the north-central part of the country, Ngozi is Burundi's second-largest coffee-producing region. Sitting at 1650-1950 masl, the region enjoys a mild average temperature of 20c year-round, perfect for predictable consistent cherry maturation.

Bourbon varietal: One of the more common varietals seen in Ngozi is the Bourbon varietal. A Typica-related variety that is the result of a natural mutation of a Typica derivative cultivated in Yemen before being transplanted to Bourbon Island- now known as Reunion Island (off the East coast of Madagascar).   

From Gihere to Kenya: Kenya has long been heralded as the pacemaker of African coffees, so it should come as no surprise that Burundi has adopted many similar cultivation and processing techniques.

This Burundi Gihere natty is sweet, jammy and delicious, with just a hint of candy booziness.