Burundi Ninga Hills

Whole bean coffee

Origin: Burundi

Region: Butanyerera

Washing Station: Ninga

Producers: Long Miles Coffee Project and many smallholding farmers

Elevation: 1900 - 2100 masl

Process: Washed, dried on raised beds

Variety: Red Bourbon

Tasting notes: Plum, brown sugar, lime

We’ve been working with the Long Miles Coffee Project since the inception of Carrier in 2015. They were as hungry and scrappy as we were, evidenced by the fact that they entertained the idea of a direct trade relationship between a landlocked and logistically challenging country and a company that could only purchase one 132 lb bag.

We’ve both grown since then, and we’d wager that the growth of Long Miles has been exponential compared to ours. They’ve been doing incredible work building connections between smallholding farmers in Burundi and specialty roasters all over the world, generating excitement and demand for high quality Burundi coffee.

Ninga Washing Station rests at 1900 meters above sea level along the Nkokoma River in the province of Butanyerera. Farmers in the area used to travel far and wide to find a washing station with fair scales and fair prices for coffee cherries, spurring Long Miles to build the Ninga station. They work closely with the hundreds of farmers in the community through farmer training, sustainable land management, and women's empowerment initiatives.

We’ve bought coffee from Ninga several times in the past, and keep coming back to it for its vibrant acidity and refined sweetness. In this year’s lot we taste notes of plum, brown sugar, and lime.

Transparency

This is our tenth year buying from Long Miles Coffee Project in Burundi. We scored this lot 86.5 points and purchased 3 60kg bags for $5.90/lb FOT.

Photo credit: Long Miles Coffee Project