Burundi Kayanza Province Natural Bourbon Premium Coffee Beans Grind Size and Roast Level Processing

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Coffee Bean State: Roasted coffee beans
Origin: Other
Roast Degree: Medium roast

Burundi Kayanza Kabuye Natural

Country: Burundi

Altitude: 1750 meters

Region: Kayanza Kabuye

Roast Degree: Medium roast

Processing Method: Natural

Burundi lies in the southeastern part of Central Africa, south of the equator. It borders Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, with its southwestern shore on Lake Tanganyika. The country is predominantly highland and mountain, made up mostly of the eastern plateau of the East African Rift Valley, with an average elevation of 1600 meters — hence the name "Land of Mountains." The capital is Bujumbura. The western lakeside, the valleys and the eastern regions have a tropical savanna climate, while the central and western parts have a tropical mountain climate. Average annual temperatures range from 20-24°C and can reach 33°C. March to May is the major rainy season, October to December the minor rainy season, and the remaining months are dry.

Burundi coffee bears a remarkable resemblance to that of its neighbor Rwanda, and the coffees of the two countries are often confused. Burundi's coffee is predominantly Bourbon, with cherries processed using traditional wet methods. The hallmark of its specialty coffee is elegant sweetness and bright citrus aromatics. This particular batch is a Bourbon micro-lot.

Variety: Bourbon

Processing Station: Panya Processing Station

Flavor: Grape skin, orange wine, fermented fruits

This batch is a natural-processed Bourbon micro-lot, grown at Maldadi Peak around the Panya Processing Station in the Kabuye area of Kayanza Province. The altitude is very high, with mountainous areas exceeding 2000 meters. The soil is fertile and gravelly, making it extremely well suited to coffee. It is recognized as the best coffee processing station in Burundi.

Burundi has one of the world's most diverse and successful coffee industries, with a character all its own. Coffee was introduced to the country in 1930 by Belgian colonists and is now grown only on small farms. Unfortunately, many of those farms lie in areas bordering war-torn Rwanda, which puts pressure on production. Almost all coffee produced in Burundi is Arabica, and in Ngozi the trees are planted above 1200 meters. Burundi coffee has an aromatic, rich flavor with excellent acidity, and most exports go to the United States, Germany, Finland and Japan.

Flavor Profile

Flavor description: rich aromas of raisins, blackberry jam and ripe peaches. The front of the cup shows the sweet flavors of cranberry, citrus and peach juice, while a generous caramel and orange-jam sweetness fills the whole cup. The wine-like fermented notes from natural processing are prominent too, reminiscent of orange wine or ripe peach. This is a truly distinctive Burundi specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This Burundi micro-lot is a natural-process Bourbon at its most fruit-forward: jammy berries, orange wine and a syrupy fermented sweetness. The closest thing on the FrontStreet roster is the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blend, which is built for exactly this kind of drinking. It combines a honey-processed Costa Rica coffee with washed Panama Geisha, so the cup keeps a rounded, fruit-driven sweetness and orange-blossom honey note rather than tipping into anything aggressive.

Roasted medium, it stays juicy and clean and works as a pour-over, cold brew or espresso, which makes it an easy stand-in for a berry-and-jam natural when you want the same profile in a house blend. For a single-origin natural with a gentler fruit character, the FrontStreet 2013 Natural Typica brings nut, brown sugar, black tea and dried apricot at a medium roast.