Rinaldos Coffee - Single Origin - Burundi: Ntarambu

From Rin:

Burundi is a country that continues to face immense social and political difficulties. Ntarambu is one of the few privately owned washing stations working hard to improve the transparency of the product and provide good working conditions for farmers.

The flavour profile from the Kayanza region in Burundi is similar in a lot of ways to the southern Rwandan coffees like Huye Mountian. In fact Huye Mountain is only about 60miles from the Kayanya village as the crow flies. The Kayanza coffees are more delicate in character and present far more floral notes of jasmine, rose and orange blossom.

Ntarambu:

Ntarambu is the name of a very small hillside east of the village of Kayanza. The farmers on this hillside exclusively supply the Mpanga washing station with their cherry and receive extensive training and financial support from SEGEC. The incentive of premiums for quality ensure the farmers bring only the ripest cherries to the station for processing. This coffee presents as true to the character of the region with Lime flower, honey and citrus acidity.

SEGEC:

SEGEC are doing their best to mitigate the risk farmers face with fluctuating world coffee prices. They pay an initial fee for delivered cherry with bonuses based on cup quality once the coffee has been sorted and cupped. The lower quality coffees will be blended together and sold commercially with the top performing lots kept separate as microlots. Once the sale is completed with the end buyer SEGEC pay premium to the producers that is a percentage of the premium SEGEC receive. SEGEC also invest heavily in farmer training to ensure the pickers and farm owners bring only the ripest cherries to the station. The bonus payment works to ensure the trainings are adhered to as they can amount to a significant portion a producer’s yearly income.

Altitude: 1805 metres above sea level
Farm/Coop: Ntarambu
Great for: Aeropress, Cafetiere, Filter
Origin: Africa/Burundi - Kayanza Province (north)
Owner: Jean Clement Birabereya
Process Method: Washed
Varietals: Bourbon & Typica