Burundi

Bumba

Sweet and ripe natural by Long Miles

This lot from the Bumba hill has been processed using a natural method.

This softens the typical fresh and bright berry notes into a rich and sweet jam, and rounds out the often slightly herbal finish into dark chocolate.

Producer
Bumba Farmers
Coffee expression
A fruity & rich coffee

Regular price: $24.00
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Sale price: $24.00
incl. vat/tax
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The Long Miles Coffee Project

The Long Miles Project, founded by Ben and Kristy Carlson, began work in 2013, aiming to raise the bar of specialty coffees coming out of Burundi. The project works with more than 4.500 individual coffee farmers living near three central washing stations, Bukeye, opened in 2013, Heza, from 2014 and Ninga, which had its first harvest in 2020.

There are several reasons why producing speciality coffee in Burundi is an incredibly difficult task. There’s the incredibly unstable political situation, where government can change rules on coffee prices and production seemingly overnight, the geographical constraints that come with being a small landlocked country attempting to export coffee by sea freight, the constant threat of military coup.

But through it all the Carlson family have managed to establish themselves as producers and exporters of consistently delicious coffees, all the while providing some semblance of stability to the lives of smallholder farmers that surround their washing stations in the northern Kayanza Province, near the border with Rwanda.

This year has seen a big jump in production in Burundi. Excellent conditions earlier in 2022 led to both higher yields and excellent quality. The recovery of global supply chains has led to a much more straightforward harvest season, a welcome relief after 3 years of struggling to make ends meet. The 2022 harvest is almost at the level of the 2018 harvest, larger in volume than the 2019, 2020 and 2021 harvests put together.

Bumba Hill

This lot is the first we have released from the Bumba hill. Coffees from Bumba are processed at Long Miles’ most recent station, at Ninga. Last year, we released a coffee from the Ninga hill itself, but the new station has allowed Long Miles to expand their presence in the region, discovering new sources of excellent quality coffee. Bumba is one such example of the remoteness of the Ninga region, far from the reaches of electricity or running water. Coffee is the most important cash crop here, grown alongside a small selection of food crops for local consumption.

"Typical fresh and bright berry notes into a rich and sweet jam, and rounds out the often slightly herbal finish into dark chocolate."

This incredibly remote nature of the region surrounding Ninga meant that access to the Long Miles eco-system of support was limited. With the completion of the new Ninga station, this changed, giving farmers full access to the Long Miles ‘Coffee Scout’ programme of agronomic support, and to fair and transparent pricing for the cherry they deliver. This lot from Bumba has been processed using a natural method. This softens the typical fresh and bright berry notes into a rich and sweet jam, and rounds out the often slightly herbal finish into dark chocolate.

Technical Data

Producer
Bumba Farmers
Region
Kayanza
Altitude
1900 masl
Varietal
Bourbon
Process
Natural
Harvest
May 2022

Natural Process

The natural, or dry process, is the traditional process, going back generations. When accomplished in a controlled and careful manner, dry processed coffees can produce flavour experiences not found in wet processed coffees, deep fruits and florals, normally with heavier mouthfeel and lower acidity. The cherries are first sorted, and then laid out on in thin layers (2-6 cm) on raised drying beds. These are almost always used for high quality naturals, as they aid airflow around the coffee as it dries, enabling more even drying.

It is very important that coffees are sorted very carefully early on in the drying process, as all of the cherries quickly turn dark brown, making it impossible to separate under and overripe cherries. The cherries are turned frequently to avoid mold formation or over-fermentation, until they reach a moisture content of below 20%, and the outer cherry layer shrinks and blackens. This process takes between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on weather conditions.