Central America (Costa Rica)
|
Cupping Notes:
Cocoa, Spices and cooked grapefruit flavors with tart acidity and delicately sweet.
Cupping Score 85
BURUNDI
Let’s together dive into the details of this coffee’s history and story behind the Burundi Butegana Kayanza Anaerobic Washed Cima Yeast microlot coffee. This is a fascinating example of how traditional coffee-growing regions like Burundi are embracing innovative processing techniques to elevate their offerings in the specialty coffee world.
Overview and Cup Profile
This microlot hails from the Butegana washing station in the Kayanza region of northern Burundi, a small, landlocked country in East Africa known for its high-altitude coffee production. The coffee is 100% Bourbon variety, grown at 1,612 meters above sea level (MASL), and harvested between March and July. The cup profile—featuring cocoa, spices, and cooked grapefruit flavors with tart acidity and good sweetness—reflects both the terroir of Kayanza and the unique anaerobic washed process enhanced by Cima yeast fermentation. This combination yields a complex, distinctive flavor that stands out in the specialty market.
The Butegana Washing Station: History and Context
The Butegana washing station holds a special place in Burundi’s coffee history as the country’s first coffee washing station, built in 1952 during the reign of King Mwambutsa IV. The station’s name, “Butegana,” translates to “to be trapped” in Kirundi, a nod to a historical event where Rwandan soldiers were reportedly ambushed and trapped in the valley by the Burundian army. Prince Baranyanka spearheaded its construction to capitalize on the region’s abundant coffee plants, strategically positioning it between two hills—Shikankoni for the processing buildings and Nkuba for the drying tables. This layout optimized the use of the landscape for coffee production.
Today, Butegana is managed by Greenco, a company that took over the station in 2015 when it began operations in Burundi. Greenco has since expanded to oversee 13 washing stations in Kayanza, supporting over 15,210 coffee-producing households. At Butegana, around 3,000 smallholder farmers—each with an average of 200-250 coffee trees—deliver their cherries. These small plots, often in farmers’ backyards, are typical in Burundi, where landholdings are tiny, and coffee is a family affair, hand-picked primarily by household members during the harvest season.
The Bourbon Variety and Kayanza Terroir
The coffee is entirely Red Bourbon, a variety introduced to Burundi during Belgian colonial rule in the 1930s and now dominant due to its quality potential. Grown at 1,612 MASL in Kayanza, the region’s high elevation, volcanic soils, sunny days, and cool nights create ideal conditions for coffee. However, aging rootstock is a challenge—many trees are over 50 years old, and with small farms, farmers hesitate to replant, as new trees take 3-4 years to yield. Greenco addresses this by providing subsidized seedlings from nurseries, helping farmers renovate their plots without losing income for years.
Kayanza, often considered the heart of Burundi’s specialty coffee sector, benefits from its proximity to the Nile River’s source and a climate that enhances cherry quality. The Butegana microlot showcases this terroir, amplified by meticulous processing.
Anaerobic Washed Cima Yeast Process: How It’s Made
The “anaerobic washed with Cima yeast” method is a modern twist on traditional coffee processing, blending science and craft to unlock unique flavors. Here’s how it works at Butegana:
- Harvesting and Sorting: Farmers selectively hand-pick ripe red cherries during the March-to-July harvest season. Upon delivery to Butegana, the cherries are floated in water to remove under-ripes and defects, ensuring only the best fruit proceeds.
- Anaerobic Fermentation with Cima Yeast: The cherries are pulped to remove the outer skin, leaving the mucilage-covered parchment. This parchment coffee is then placed in sealed, oxygen-free tanks. Cima yeast, developed by Lalcafé in France over four years of research, is introduced—typically at a ratio of 1 gram of yeast per liter of water per kilogram of coffee. The yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ferments the sugars in the mucilage for about 12 hours (though some lots extend to 36 hours). This controlled anaerobic environment enhances fruity and acidic notes while minimizing spoilage risks, even at cooler high-altitude temperatures (down to 15°C).
- Washing: After fermentation, the coffee is thoroughly washed to remove the mucilage, aligning with the “washed” process that Burundi is known for. This step ensures a clean, bright cup, distinguishing it from natural or honey-processed coffees.
- Drying: The washed parchment is spread on raised drying tables at Nkuba hill for 2-3 weeks. Workers meticulously sort and turn the coffee to ensure even drying, monitoring moisture levels (typically aiming for 10-12%) and removing any visual defects. Burundi’s sunny days and cool nights aid this slow, careful drying, preserving quality.
The result is a microlot with tart acidity from the anaerobic fermentation, sweetness from the Bourbon variety, and layered flavors—cocoa, spices, and cooked grapefruit—thanks to the Cima yeast’s influence on fermentation dynamics.
The Story Behind the Microlot
This microlot represents a convergence of tradition and innovation. Burundi’s coffee industry, long overshadowed by neighbors like Ethiopia and Kenya, has historically relied on smallholder farmers and basic washed processing. Butegana, as the pioneering station, laid the groundwork for this legacy. Greenco’s arrival in 2015 marked a shift, bringing agronomic expertise, farmer support, and experimental processing like anaerobic fermentation to elevate Burundi’s profile in the specialty market. Their dominance in Cup of Excellence competitions since then underscores this success.
The use of Cima yeast is a deliberate choice to highlight the potential of Butegana’s cherries. By controlling fermentation, it reduces defects common in wild fermentation (e.g., over-fermented or vinegary notes) and amplifies the coffee’s inherent qualities—think of it as a winemaker’s approach applied to coffee. The “microlot” designation indicates a small, carefully selected batch, often from specific farmers or days, processed separately to showcase its distinct character.
Why Process This Way?
The anaerobic washed Cima yeast method is about precision and flavor enhancement. Traditional washed processing in Burundi yields clean, floral coffees, but anaerobic fermentation adds complexity—tartness and fruit-forward notes like cooked grapefruit—while the yeast ensures consistency. For smallholders with limited yields (200-300 kilos of cherry annually), this value-added process justifies the effort, fetching higher prices in the specialty market. It’s a way for Burundi to stand out, blending its rich coffee heritage with cutting-edge techniques.
In short, this Butegana microlot is a story of resilience, community, and innovation—a testament to how a tiny nation’s first washing station continues to evolve, delivering a cup that’s both a taste of history and a glimpse of coffee’s future.