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Heart of Africa Burundi Coffee | Small and Beautiful Landlocked Country Produces World-Renowned Washed Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account cafe_style) Burundi Rutana Burundi Heart of Africa Country: Burundi Region: Rutana Town Altitude: 1400-1700 meters Processing Method: Washed Variety: Bourbon 01 | Region Introduction Burundi Burundi, the heart of Africa.

Burundi Rutana

Burundi: Heart of Africa

Country: Burundi

Region: Rutana Town

Altitude: 1,400-1,700 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Bourbon

01 | Regional Introduction

Burundi

Burundi, the heart of Africa.

According to World Bank statistics from 2011, approximately 600,000-800,000 households in Burundi depend on coffee for their livelihood, making coffee central to Burundi's economy.

Burundi is a beautiful landlocked country located on the steep terrain of the East African Rift Valley. The magnificent mountain ridge that rises suddenly on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika forms the watershed between Africa's two major river systems: the Nile and Congo. This has earned it the beautiful nickname "Heart of Africa." Through Belgian introduction, Burundi began cultivating coffee in 1930. The varieties, like neighboring Rwanda, are mostly Bourbon series. Coffee grows at high altitudes between 1,750 to 2,000 meters.

The first Arabica coffee trees in Burundi were introduced by Belgium in the 1930s. Today, over 800,000 Burundian families rely on coffee cultivation for their livelihood, mostly belonging to small-scale coffee gardens, intercropped with other crops, manually planted without mechanical equipment. Coffee tree varieties are mostly Bourbon and Jackson and Mibirigy from the Bourbon system. Processing methods include both washed and semi-washed. Formerly, most exports went to Belgium, Germany, Holland, Japan, Australia, and the United States.

Coffee export has already become an important economic source for Burundi. Burundi's coffee mainly comes from the following five major regions, with famous coffee-producing areas including Kayanza, Ngozi, Mumirwa, Buyenzi, and Kirimiro. Burundi's coffee production model is closer to Ethiopia's, with mostly small-scale farmers. Farmers from the Nyarunasi Cooperative send their harvested mature cherries to processing facilities for unified processing.

Although there are other small regions, the coffee produced in these areas is the most famous.

Buyenzi

The largest coffee-producing region in the country, bordering Rwanda. Two specific areas, Kayanza and Ngozi, are the most famous.

The Kayanza region has an extremely mild climate with an average temperature of 18°C. Most small farms are located between 1,700-2,000 meters, with summer as the dry season. In the 2015 Cup of Excellence competition, coffee from Kayanza achieved a high score of 91.09.

Ngozi is located in northeastern Burundi at similar altitude to Kayanza. Although its production is less than Kayanza, it has shown impressive quality potential in recent years. In the 2015 Cup of Excellence competition, its best batches achieved a high score of 88.92, with other batches from this region also scoring above 85.

Kirundo, Bugesera

Northeastern Burundi, with lower production but good development potential; altitude is approximately 1,400-1,700 meters. The best score from this region in Cup of Excellence is 86.62.

Muyinga, Bweru

Another coffee-producing region in northeastern Burundi, bordering Tanzania. Average altitude is 1,800 meters, with typical Burundian characteristics: mild climate, volcanic soil, and high rainfall.

Gitega, Kirimiro

Located in the central mountainous region of Burundi, with average annual temperatures of 12-18°C. Annual rainfall is about 1,100mm, lower than other regions.

In addition to Cup of Excellence award-winning coffee, this region has a professional coffee laboratory focused on export coffee quality control.

Bubanza, Mumirwa

Located in northern Burundi, bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, at altitudes of 1,100-2,000 meters, average temperatures of 12-18°C, and annual rainfall of about 1,100mm.

02 | Processing Method

Burundi "Heart of Africa"

The Rutana Town production area's coffee production model is similar to Ethiopia's, with mostly small-scale farmers sending their harvested mature cherries to processing facilities for unified processing. This batch from Rutana Town comes from a cooperative formed by family-like small coffee farmers, totaling 539 small coffee farming families, of which 148 are women. On average, each family plants 10-200 coffee trees (at least 1,000 coffee trees can be planted per hectare), showing their meager annual income, typical of impoverished small coffee farming families.

The coffee harvested by small farmers is processed using traditional washed methods. After pulping, the beans are soaked and cleaned in water tanks, then placed on drying racks to complete sun drying.

Like other East African countries, Burundi coffee has its own special processing method: double washing (or double fermentation). Coffee processed this way carries extremely clean taste and bright flavors.

The coffee beans have almost no defects, with uniform size and moisture content. High maturity and consistent roasting result in beans presenting a relatively bright roasted color. The flavor is wild, with strong lingering taste and aroma. The rich fragrance differs from most high-quality, mild coffees on the market, receiving high praise in Europe. The dry aroma is very strong, not inferior to Kenyan coffee. Upon entry, you can immediately feel the richness, like vanilla with a wild feeling. The coffee is rich, with acidity lower than Kenya, texture slightly thicker than Kenya, and finish lighter than Kenya, yet having the inherent characteristics of East African beans while being quite unique.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Generally, Burundi coffee is mainly Bourbon variety, with some other variant varieties.

Cultivation altitudes range from 700-2,700 meters. Higher altitudes produce brighter acidity and lemon notes, with flavors of passion fruit, pineapple, floral notes, and honey, with quality reaching SCA 86+ points. Lower altitude coffee has slightly thinner texture with more chocolate and hazelnut flavors.

04 | Roasting Analysis

The green beans have high density, so heat adjustment requires special care. To highlight fruit flavors and sweetness, medium roast is chosen to fully express the uniqueness of the green beans. After 1 minute, the initial heat will be relatively high, adjusting heat early in the dehydration phase to make the coffee's taste and aroma uniform.

Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans input, specific operation:

Heat roaster to 200°C, damper set to 3. After 1 minute of steaming, adjust heat to 160°C, damper unchanged. At 160°C, adjust heat once more down to 130°C. Roast to 5'35", temperature 152°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely gone, dehydration complete, damper adjusted to 4.

At the 9th minute, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack starts at 9'10", small heat unchanged, damper fully open to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not too small to stop cracking sound). At 196.5°C, discharge from roaster.

Cupping Notes

Dry aroma is very strong, not inferior to Kenya: citrus, cream, caramel.

Upon entry, you can immediately feel richness, like vanilla with some straw flavor, a wild feeling. Acidity is lower than Kenya, texture slightly thicker than Kenya, finish lighter than Kenya, yet having the inherent characteristics of East African beans while being quite unique.

Flavor characteristics: plum, kumquat, lemon, dried fruit, caramel, with light acidity, smooth texture, saturated aroma, and rich, persistent finish.