In the cup

In the Cup

A clean, washed profile:

• Orange Marmalade
• Smooth Dark Chocolate
• Delicate florals

An elegant, refined cup with a soft, refreshing finish, clarity and brightness from start to end.

Origin Info

Burundi is a small, landlocked East African country that punches well above its weight in specialty coffee. Coffee arrived in the 1930s under Belgian colonial rule and remains the country's economic backbone, grown almost entirely by smallholders, hundreds of thousands of families, many tending just a few hundred trees on tiny hillside plots. The landscape does much of the work: high altitudes, typically 1,500 to 2,000 masl, rich volcanic soils, and a cool, wet climate that lets cherry ripen slowly and develop real complexity. Red Bourbon dominates, and the vast majority is washed at communal washing stations, where farmers pool their cherry - a model that has helped Burundi build a reputation for clean, vibrant, floral cups with delicate fruit and elegant acidity. Harvest runs roughly February to July, and while challenges around infrastructure, pricing, and political stability persist, the quality coming out of regions like Kayanza and Ngozi has put Burundi firmly on the specialty map.

THE FARM

Izuba sits nestled in the hills of Runinya, in Burundi's Kayanza Province. The name means "sun" in Kirundi, fitting for a washing station that brings this much clarity and warmth into the cup. Here, quality begins with careful hand-sorting of fresh cherry and a pre-pulp float to remove underripes. After pulping, the parchment ferments under water for around 12 hours, agitated several times for an even breakdown of mucilage. It then moves through a serpentine grading channel that separates beans by density and cleanses the parchment with flowing water. Following a final post-wash rinse, the parchment is hand-sorted once more and dried slowly over 15 to 20 days, turned regularly for even drying.

THE PROCESS

Anoxic washed processing is a modern twist on the traditional washed method, where fermentation happens in a sealed, oxygen-free (anaerobic) environment. Cherries, or, in the washed version, depulped parchment are placed in airtight tanks, often purged of oxygen or fitted with valves that let CO₂ escape while keeping air out. Without oxygen, a different set of microbes and yeasts take over fermentation, working more slowly and in a controlled way. This builds distinctive, often intensified flavours heightened sweetness, deeper fruit, and complex, sometimes wine-like or syrupy notes while the subsequent washing keeps the cup clean rather than boozy or overly funky. The result is a coffee that pairs the clarity of a washed process with an extra layer of aromatic intensity, though it demands tight control over time, temperature, and pH to stay consistent.