IN THE CUP: Brown sugar, walnuts & Grapefruit

Origin: Kayanza, Burundi | Producer: The Izuba Washing Station | Variety: Red Bourbon |   Process: Washed | Altitude: 1500 - 1700 MASL | Harvest: 2024

Izuba means “sun” in Kirundi. The washing station is located in the Kayanza region, close to a nearby river which provides fresh water for processing. The washing station itself is nestled between three hills - Kigeri, Ryamukona and Muggy - and the coffee for Izuba is collected from these areas. The station aims to pay premiums wherever it can, not only to the farmers but to the staff as well, which usually around 25% higher than average. Izuba is operated by Raw Material, a non profit coffee importer we work very closely with. As a small roastery it can be difficult to find ways to have an impact at origin but by aligning ourselves with a company like Raw Material and buying coffee consistently each season we can build lasting working relationships that benefit everyone.

This coffee is washed Red Bourbon lot. All cherry is hand-sorted before a pre-pulp float, where any under ripe or damaged cherry is removed. The selected cherry is now pulped in preparation for fermentation. The now parchment coffee is fermented in concrete fermentation tanks for an average of 12 hours under water. During this time, the fermenting parchment is agitated several times throughout the day.  After fermentation, coffee is released into a large serpentine grading channel. This process also separates parchment into different density grades. During the washing process, parchment is continuously agitated to encourage lower density parchment to float and to clean any residual mucilage off the parchment. Once the parchment is separated into grades, it is given a final post-wash rinse. At this point, coffee is taken to a pre-drying area where the parchment is hand-sorted removing any insect-damaged, discoloured or chipped coffee. The parchment is laid out to dry and turned on a regular basis throughout the day for between 15 and 20 days depending on the climate.

We love the clean simplicity of the easy drinking coffee. There’s lots of sweetness and body but it also has a brightness, like grapefruit, to give it a pleasant vibrancy.

*Our coffee is freshly roasted each week and orders are dispatched on Tuesday and Thursday for orders received by 12pm the day before.