Burundi – Karuzi, Natural

Bean Basics

Burundi offerings, such as this lot, are purchased in cherry form from members of the Nkoronko Cooperative and farmers living within close proximity of the Nkoronko Washing Station. Contributing producers primarily cultivate the Bourbon variety, and pick cherries at peak ripeness for daily delivery to the washing station. Upon arrival at the washing station, producers bring their cherries to a sorting station where the cherries are visually sorted, removing the cherries that are underripe, overripe, or defective. Once sorted, a sample of cherries is taken and a float test is performed by an on-staff quality controller to ensure proper cherry selection for the lot. Once approved, the final amount of approvable cherries are weighed out and considered Grade A, the defective cherries are also weighed out and considered Grade B. Both selections of cherries are purchased from the producer but processed separately. 

For washed coffees, the coffee is de-pulped using a traditional disc pulper and then fermented dry for a period of 12 hours, fermented wet for up to 24 hours, fully washed, and then soaked for another 12 hours in clean water depending on the weather. After this, coffee is moved to raised beds where it is consistently moved and hand-sorted throughout the drying process that can take up to 2 weeks.

For natural coffees, the cherries are placed immediately on raised beds after the selection process and dried over the course of three weeks. During this time they are moved and sorted by hand to ensure an even dryness throughout the lot. 

Once coffees are dried, they are transferred to a dry mill. Before the dry milling process starts, the coffee is cupped to assess quality. Lots that have similar scores are blended to create larger lots throughout the dry milling process.

Roast Events

Roast profile recorded on an MCR-2 Digital