BURUNDI TURACO

TASTING NOTES | HIBISCUS. BERRIES. LEMON. HONEY

Country of origin: Burundi

Finca: Turaco

Location: Ngozi & Kayanza

Altitude: 1600-1900masl

Producers: Coop farmers

Varieties: Bourbon

Processing: Fully Washed

Harvest & Shipping: March-July

SCA Quality Score: 86.5

Suggested brew method: Espresso

Named for the brightly-colored birds spotted across Burundi, our Fully washed Turaco specialty blend is sure to catch your attention. The high-quality cup is selected by our experienced QC teams at origin. Our vertically integrated sourcing chain makes this coffee’s journey as efficient as the proverbial bird flies.

This Turaco blend is sourced directly from either Bugestal or Greenco.  Its consistent cup profile and excellent sustainability credentials present an excellent value.

Our vertically integrated sourcing chain makes this coffee’s journey as efficient as the proverbial bird flies. Our focus on whole-harvest sourcing mean sustainable producer resilience and roaster success. Expect a consistent, quality product at accessible prices.

Most coffee trees in Burundi are Red Bourbon for reasons of quality. Because of the increasingly small size of coffee plantings, aging rootstock is a very big issue in Burundi. Many farmers have trees that are over 50 years old, but with small plots to farm, it is difficult to justify taking trees entirely out of production for the 3-4 years it will take new plantings to begin to yield. In order to encourage farmers to renovate their plantings, Greenco & Bugestal purchase seeds from the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), establishes nurseries and sells the seedlings to farmers at or below cost.

Despite the ubiquity of coffee growing in Burundi, each smallholder producers a relatively small harvest. The average smallholder has approximately 250 trees, normally in their backyards. Each tree yields an average of 1.5 kilos of cherry so the average producer sells about 200-300 kilos of cherry annually.