Burundi, Nyagashiha - Single Origin Espresso

Single Origin Coffee Description

Nyagashiha (pronounced NIA-GASH-IYA) meaning comes from the historical tree variety that once grew in the region. Nyagashiha washing station is located 86km south of the capital Bujumbura. It is surrounded by steep valleys where most of the land is used by farmer/family communities who not only grow coffee but also fruit and vegetables. Jean-Baptiste Bigirimana is the manager who oversees the 1,172 farmers who produce roughly 400MT of exportable green coffee per harvest. The region has a temperate year-round average of 18 degrees, which allows the cherries to develop slowly, creating greater complexity in the cup.

At the washing station, producers bring red ripe cherries the same day they’re picked. The cherry is then floated in small tanks of water to eliminate any defective beans (floaters) before pulping is carried out. Soaking and washing in clean water sourced from mostly mountain streams, the beans must then go directly under the pre-drying area. This process further sorts out any immature, yellow, or damaged coffee beans, as good and defective parchment can look the same under the sun's rays. Finally, the washed and sorted coffee is moved to drying beds for an average of 2 weeks until the desired moisture content is reached.

The Nyagashiha washing station is one of many wet mills that form the Akawa project, a joint venture between Burundian coffee company Succam and coffee exporter, Supremo. The Akawa project was created to help farmers escape the cycle of poverty in a sustainable and equitable way. The sub projects of Akawa include:

• COFFEE NURSERY
  With a capacity to host 200,000 seedlings over roughly 1,000 square metres, each nursery allows the distribution of coffee seedlings for farmers to improve their farms with young, productive trees. Additionally, fruits, vegetables, and shade tree seedlings will be provided for farmers to diversify their income and provide shade on their coffee farms.
• WATER PROJECT
  Focus was placed on first identifying hills with little or no easy access to fresh water by an engineer and local community leaders. A total of 36 sources were visited and assessed and 20 were selected to be worked. This provides safer and cleaner access to drinking water for a total of 1,175 households (almost 6,000 Burundian families).
• GOAT PROJECT
  Each leader-farmer has received a goat to help create manure for soil nurturing to focus on increasing soil fertility so farmers can grow healthy, high-yielding coffee trees. Beyond simply distributing goats to farmers, the social cohesiveness this creates is of great importance, as all future baby goats will be given to neighbouring farmers, creating a positive cycle in the coffee community.

Jean-Baptiste insists on rigorous double sorting of all lots that pass through the mill. His hard work recently became officially recognised when the washing station placed in the top 20 of Cup of Excellence - 2019. This attention to detail creates incredible complexity, cleanliness and consistency in the cup, with tasting notes of dried apricot, honey, lime & mango.

Coffee Breakdown

Burundi Nyagashiha 100%
Natural - Red bourbon varietal grown at an altitude of 1530 masl in Burundi’s Rumonge province.