Description
Nyagishiru Coffee Washing Station, located near Buhinyuza in the Muyinga region, features 200 raised drying beds, a Mackinnon pulper, and a considerable suite of tanks for fermentation and processing. Around 850 coffee producing families on the surrounding 12 hills contribute cherry; Matraco, the producer of this coffee and owner of the washing station, also has a small plot of its own trees on the same hill as station itself.
Farmers delivering cherry to Nyagishiru receive a 20% premium above the local market rate, while staff enjoys wages nearly 60% higher than the Burundi average. This commitment extends across Matraco’s portfolio, which includes two more washing stations in Northern Burundi. Matraco also supports local farmers by distributing composted coffee pulp as fertilizer and donating seedlings.
Matraco’s coffee journey began with a truck. Founder Zuberi Matsitsi got his start transporting coffee in trailer trucks, eventually amassing a fleet of over 10 trucks. In 2015, Matraco expanded into coffee production. Today, Matraco continues to transport coffee in their own trucks, ensuring close quality oversight in an area where transportation remains something of a challenge.
Testing Notes: We thought these beans best at a nice medium roast: clean, floral and semi-fruity cup. The lovely lighter tones balance with a little chocolate and spice note. Medium body, lower acidity, and a bit sweeter. The fruitiness is delicate and down the red fruit alley, strawberry, or a touch of lychee appear on the nose and palate, supported by a chocolate/caramel/spice darker note. We had one taster say it was more of a banana-like sweetness. Lighter roasting will accentuate the citric acidity and lean it towards mandarin/lemon tones leaving the cup crisper and sweeter but can pull a little earthy contrast if too light.
Roasting Notes: Easy to roast and versatile from light to dark. If you want to highlight floral notes and citric acidity with banana-like sweetness, aim for a lighter roast with a short development after the first crack. Medium roasting will achieve the best balance between red fruit (strawberry/lychee), caramel, and chocolate, while maintaining a very pleasant medium body. Medium-dark roasting will enhance body and more pronounced nutty/chocolate tones, hiding most of the citric and fruity tones. As a natural processed it does have higher chaff levels but will roast pretty even. Avoid entering 2nd crack if you want to maintain cleanliness and sweetness.
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