October 2022 Discovery Coffee

Origin: Burundi

Region: Masenga Hill, Mutambu District

Process: Washed 

Species: Arabica 

Variety: Red Bourbon 

Tasting Notes: Juicy, Dried Fruits, Balanced

ABOUT MASENGA HILL LOT 43

Bashirwabigoye Geroffe is a second generation coffee farmer, having been taught by his father at the age of 27. With a small plot containing only 350 coffee trees alongside other crops, producing high quality coffee has helped Bashirwabigoye and his wife avoid poverty and provide for their young family. 

Located in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, this Republic is sandwiched between the Great Lakes of Victoria and Tanganyika. That should narrow down the location for you! It is one of the few countries on its continent whose borders remain unaltered since before the pre-colonial era. Traditional instruments such as the karyenda play an important role in their culture - drumming is a largely oral tradition which expresses thoughts and feelings through the rhythm of their beat.

HISTORY OF COFFEE IN BURUNDI

Coffee production has been something of a roller coaster in Burundi, with wild ups and downs: During the country’s time as a Belgian colony, coffee was a cash crop, with exports mainly going back to Europe or to feed the demand for coffee by Europeans in other colonies. Under Belgian rule, Burundian farmers were forced to grow a certain number of coffee trees each—of course receiving very little money or recognition for the work. Once the country gained its independence in the 1960s, the coffee sector (among others) was privatised, stripping control from the government except when necessary for research or price stabilisation and intervention. Coffee farming had left a bad taste, however, and fell out of favor; quality declined, and coffee plants were torn up or abandoned.
After the civil war–torn 1990s and the nearly total devastation of the country’s economy, coffee slowly emerged as a possible means to recover the agrarian sector and increase foreign exchange. In the first decade of the 2000s, inspired in large part by neighboring Rwanda’s success rebuilding through coffee, Burundi’s coffee industry saw an increase in investment, and a somewhat healthy balance of both privately and state-run coffee companies and facilities has created more opportunity and stability, and has helped Burundi establish itself as an emerging African coffee-growing country, despite its small size and tumultuous history.