What's the Market for Sun-Dried Burundi Coffee Beans Which Burundi Coffee Brand is Best

Burundi: The Heart of African Coffee

Burundi sits 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 Lake Tanganyika along its southwestern edge. The country is mostly plateau and mountain, formed largely by the eastern plateau of the East African Rift Valley, and its average elevation of 1,600 meters nationwide has earned it the name "Mountain Country." More than half of the country lies on the famous Lake Tanganyika, and the capital is Bujumbura. The western lakeside and valley areas, together with the east, have a tropical savanna climate, while the central and western parts are tropical mountain. Average annual temperatures run 20-24°C and can reach 33°C. March to May is the heavy rainy season, October to December the light rainy season, and the remaining months are dry.

Coffee Characteristics

Burundi coffee bears a striking resemblance to that of its neighbor Rwanda, and the two countries' coffees are often confused. Burundi's cultivation is dominated by Bourbon varieties, processed with traditional wet methods. Its specialty coffee is known for elegant sweetness and bright citrus aromatics. This lot is a Bourbon micro-lot.

Variety: Bourbon

Processing Station: Panga Processing Station

Flavor: Grape skin, orange wine, fermented fruits

This batch is a natural-processed Bourbon micro-lot grown at the Panga Processing Station on Mardati Peak, in the Kabuye area of Kayanza Province. The elevation is extremely high, with mountain areas rising past 2,000 meters above sea level. The soil is fertile and gravelly, ideal for coffee and the reason this 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 by Belgian colonists in 1930 and is now grown only on small farms. Unfortunately, many of these farms lie in areas bordering Rwanda, where frequent conflicts put pressure on production. Nearly all of Burundi's coffee is Arabica, and the coffee trees in Ngozi are planted above 1,200 meters. Burundi coffee is rich and aromatic with excellent acidity, and most of the crop is exported 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 sweet notes of cranberry, citrus, and peach juice, while a rich sweetness of caramel and orange jam fills it out. The fermented, wine-like character of natural processing is prominent too, recalling orange wine or peach: a truly distinctive Burundi specialty coffee.

Bourbon Coffee Heritage

Bourbon coffee (French: Café Bourbon) is produced from Arabica trees of the Bourbon cultivar. It was originally cultivated on Réunion Island, known as Bourbon Island (Île Bourbon) before 1789. France later carried it to the African continent and Latin America, and today it is one of the world's two most popular Arabica production regions. Bourbon coffee is typically grown at elevations of 3,500 to 6,500 feet (1,062-1,972 meters).

Product Information

Brand: FrontStreet Coffee

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

Bean State: Roasted coffee beans

Origin: Other

Roast Degree: Medium roast

Coffee Details

Burundi Kayanza Kabuye Natural

Country: Burundi

Elevation: 1,750 meters

Region: Kayanza Kabuye

Roast Level: Medium roast

Processing Method: Natural

Brewing Instructions

To brew Burundi coffee by pour-over: use 15g of coffee, a medium grind (Fuji ghost tooth grinder #4), a V60 dripper, and water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and stop, wait until the water level drops to half, then slowly pour until you reach 225g. Avoid the tail end. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, with an extraction time of 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the natural, sun-dried character of this Burundi lot appeals to you, FrontStreet's natural-process lineup is a natural next step. The FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry is picked only from fully ripe, all-red cherries and spread on raised drying beds to keep the fruit off the ground and away from insects, dust, and bacteria, with regular turning so the cherries heat evenly. Given a medium-light roast, it carries the elegant florals and bright acidity of Yirgacheffe alongside the pronounced tropical fruit, full fermented depth, and sweetness that sun-drying brings.

For a bolder natural, the FrontStreet Natural Flower Queen is hard to beat. Grown at very high altitude in excellent conditions, on fertile soil, and from carefully selected ripe cherries, it has a delicate perfume that Sidamo's signature natural processing only heightens. Medium-light roasted, it delivers a light fermented note, florals, citrus, and mango, with a much richer, more layered body, honeyed sweetness, and a cocoa finish touched with spice, plus a full body and a long aftertaste.

And if you want to see how far natural processing can go, try the FrontStreet Colombia Sidra. Rather than a standard natural, it goes through a double anaerobic natural: whole fresh cherries are sealed in a tank and flushed with carbon dioxide to drive out oxygen, creating an oxygen-free fermentation that slows the breakdown of sugars in the mucilage and the drop in pH. The beans are then dried on beds to the target moisture before hulling. The result is a dense tropical-fruit aroma with the complex layers of passion fruit, apricot, dried fruit, and grape, and an almond-like finish.