Description
This lot comes from the Nkuba Coffee Washing Station, located in the highlands of Kayanza province in northern Burundi. The station is owned by Minani Leonard and processes cherry from just 289 smallholder farmers who grow on its namesake hill. “Nkuba” means “lightning” in Kirundi, and local tradition holds that this hill sits on soil blessed by lightning. The station works alongside Baho Coffee, the company founded by Emmanuel Rusatira that runs washing stations in Rwanda and partners with independent processors in Burundi to bring their coffees to the international market.
Kayanza is deeply tied to the history and the specialty market of Burundian coffee. The Butanyerera region is a large, newly formed mountainous highland in the north of the country, bordering Rwanda to the north and Ngozi, another important coffee area, to the east. Here the trees grow at around 1647 masl on volcanic loam soils, from local bourbon cultivars. The harvest runs from March to June. It is worth remembering that natural processed coffee outside of Ethiopia is still uncommon in East Africa, so these Burundi naturals represent a niche with an identity of its own.
For this natural, cherry is collected daily from the surrounding farmers, sorted to remove imperfections, and moved immediately to raised drying beds. During drying the cherries are rotated continuously in the sun and, when needed, piled into small pyramids to slow the evaporation of moisture and preserve the cellular integrity and sweetness of the bean.
Tasting Notes:This cup has a pleasant but restrained acidity, closer to a Brazil than to a bright African, balanced by a sweet cacao base. Notes of melon and a subtle hint of green tea add freshness without making it sharp. At a lighter roast it shows a bit livelier and more aromatic, with the melon and green tea more present. From medium and beyond the acidity settles down and the cacao takes the center of the cup, giving a rounder, sweeter profile. It is a medium bodied cup, smooth with a slightly creamy texture that leaves a clean, pleasant finish.
Roasting Notes:This is an easy coffee to roast and fairly forgiving, so it is a good option both for beginners and for dialing in profiles. It gives its best from medium to dark: at a medium roast it keeps the balance between the mild acidity, the melon and the cacao, while toward the darker end (close but not into 2nd crack) it gains body and turns much more chocolaty and sweet. At a lighter roast it holds more freshness and the green tea touches, though we prefer it from medium to dark, where the cacao and sweetness shine without losing smoothness.
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