Burundi

Giku

Crisp and fresh berries create a juicy expression in this lot from the Giku hill, processed at Long Miles’ new Ninga station

Here we find fresh red berries, and a deep sugary sweetness and a delicately herbal finish.
Coffee expression
A fruity & acidic coffee
Whole Bean Coffee
250g (8.8oz) or 1000g (35.3oz)

Regular price: $18.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $18.00
incl. vat/tax
Regular price: ~~$20.00~~
Unit price: per

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Producer
Giku Farmers

Varietal
Bourbon

Process
Washed

Another release from our long term partners in Burundi, the Long Miles Coffee Project.

Burundi

The Long Miles 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 just last year. 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 is the first year that Long Miles have processed coffee on the Ninga hill, after having built their new washing station here throughout 2020 and 2021.

Kayanza

Giku

This year is no different, another difficult season has passed in Burundi. The 2021 season, after disappointing yields in both 2019 and 2020, was expected to bounce back for a bumper harvest. Unfortunately, the volume never came. This is starkly illustrated by that fact that the 2021, 2020 and 2019 harvests put together do not match up to the volume produced in 2018. Add to this the global supply chain issues that many have struggled with this year, and a change of government rules surrounding the financing of coffee before export, and we paint a picture of a typically difficult Burundi harvest.

Here we find a deep and rich red berry jam, the fresh fruit notes softened by the natural processing.

Washed Bourbon

Giku

The team at Long Miles have seen great quality potential in the farmers of Giku hill for some time now, but were unable to serve this very remote area effectively due to the great distance from their existing stations. Producers from Giku previously had to walk for over three hours to reach the nearest Long Miles station at Bukeye, so many chose not to make the journey, delivering instead to more traditional cherry collectors. With the completion of the new Ninga station, and the expansion of Long Miles’ ‘Coffee Scout’ programme of agronomic support extended to Giku, the Ninga farmers have been brought fully into the Long Miles eco-system. This is the first time coffee from Giku has been processed at Ninga, and the quality is clear. A typically washed Burundi profile is showcased here, with sweet juicy berries followed up by a delicately herbal finish.

Technical Data

Producer
Giku Farmers
Region
Kayanza
Altitude
1700 masl
Varietal
Bourbon
Process
Washed
Harvest
May 2021

Washed Process

The washed process involves completely removing both the cherry and the mucilage from the outside of the parchment with the use of friction, fermentation and water. After being harvested, the coffee cherry is then sliced open by either a metal or a sharp plastic blade.

The two seeds (also known as beans) are pushed out of the cherry, which leaves the seed with mucilage as their outermost layer. It is essential in the washed process that all mucilage is removed from the seed which leaves only the flavour that developed in the cell structure of the seed prior to processing.

Giku

The Long Miles Project

Giku

Giku

Technical Data

Washed Process

Brew Guides

Guides

Equipment