Burundi Nemba Kayanza

The Kayanza region is located in northern Burundi, near the border with Rwanda. It is home to the Nemba washing station, where local coffee farmers—each family tending an average of 150 coffee trees—deliver their freshly picked coffee cherries for processing. The area offers ideal conditions for growing exceptional coffee: a high elevation of 1,800 metres, Red Bourbon trees, volcanic soils and abundant rainfall.

After the farmers deliver their freshly picked cherries to Nemba, the cherries are sorted, depulped and fermented for up to 12 hours. They are then washed in clean mountain water and soaked once more—a process known as a “double soak”—before the coffee is dried on raised drying beds.

In terms of character, this fully washed this coffee has a bright berry character, apple-like fruitiness and a citrusy, exceptionally long and well-developed finish.

MORE ABOUT THE WASHING STATION NEMBA KAYANZA

Nemba station is located in the northern province of Kayanza. The lead agronomist oversees the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and farmer education. The agronomist works with producers to ensure they have access to the necessary farming tools and helps them identify and implement the practices best suited to the growing conditions of their individual plots.

Nemba uses a monitoring system to ensure traceability throughout the entire production and processing chain. All 1,074 producers are smallholder farmers, each tending an average of 150 coffee trees. All farmers who deliver coffee cherries to Nemba are located at elevations above 1,700 metres, near the Kibila forest. The washing station has more than 200 drying tables and can process up to 750 metric tonnes of coffee cherries annually.

The washing station participates in several farmer outreach and support projects. These include a livestock-rearing project and a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperatives and improving yields.

During the harvest season, all coffee cherries are selectively hand-picked. Most families tend only 200–250 coffee trees, and the harvesting is carried out almost entirely by the family itself.

Quality assurance begins as soon as the farmers deliver their coffee cherries. The cherries are wet-processed under constant supervision. Depulping, fermentation time, washing, grading in the water channels and the final soaking are all closely monitored. As a first step in quality control, all cherries are placed in small buckets of water, where lower-quality cherries float to the surface. The remaining cherries are then sorted by hand to remove any damaged, underripe or overripe fruit.

After sorting, the cherries are depulped within six hours of delivery. The coffee is dry-fermented for up to 12 hours and then soaked in clean water for 12–24 hours.

Pergamentkaffet blötläggs därefter i ytterligare 12–18 timmar innan det torkas på upphöjda torkbäddar i två till tre veckor.