Why does Burundi heart coffee taste so bright and fruity?

Burundi sits on the East African Rift at the watershed between the Nile and Congo river systems, a position that earned it the name Heart of Africa. Its plateau and mountain terrain averages about 1,600 meters, with heavy rainfall and a subtropical-to-tropical climate, and those conditions support the clear acidity and fruit character found in the country's coffee.

Five main producing regions stand out: Kayanza, Ngozi, Kirundo, Muyinga and Kirimiro, alongside the small Rutana area, which is farmed through cooperatives. Bourbon varieties are widely planted, and washed processing, roast curve, cupping scores and pour-over parameters all shape the final cup, keeping the bright acidity and floral-fruity aromatics that street coffee drinkers notice first.

Although Burundi is located inland in East Africa, it occupies a unique position on the specialty coffee map thanks to its high altitude, abundant rainfall, and Bourbon varieties. This article begins with Burundi's geographical conditions and cultivation history, sorts out the characteristics of five major producing regions—Kayanza, Ngozi, Kirundo, Muyinga, and Kirimiro—and extends to the operating model of cooperatives in the small Rutana producing region. At the same time, it explains in detail the origins and flavor performance of the Bourbon variety, and, combined with information on Front Street Coffee's Burundi African Heart coffee beans, shares the washed processing flow, roasting curve, cupping report, and pour-over parameters to help coffee lovers fully understand this bean's bright acidity and floral-fruity aroma.

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When African coffee is mentioned, Front Street always thinks of Burundi. This country's presence in the coffee world cannot be underestimated. In Front Street's eyes, the most enchanting thing about Burundian coffee is its clear acidity and fruity character, which is pleasant on the palate. Today Front Street will take everyone to gain a deeper understanding of Burundian coffee.

Burundi Coffee Cultivation Geography

Burundi sits on the East African Rift, with highly varied terrain, and is located at the junction of Central Africa and East Africa. It is a standard landlocked country and also the watershed between the Nile River system and the Congo River system, hence the title "Heart of Africa." Front Street has learned that Burundi is among the world's least developed countries, with an economic structure supported by agriculture and animal husbandry, and agricultural income accounting for 70% of the country's total revenue.

Burundi's terrain is dominated by plateaus and mountains, with an average national altitude of about 1,600 meters. Its climate has both subtropical and tropical characteristics, with very abundant rainfall. Front Street has mentioned many times before that the higher the altitude, the better the coffee quality tends to be; and coffee trees themselves like light, so ample sunlight and rain exactly create ideal conditions for cultivation. Coffee produced under such terroir naturally has the potential to be specialty coffee.

Burundi Coffee History

According to information Front Street consulted, coffee cultivation in Burundi can be traced back to 1930. At that time Burundi was under Belgian colonial rule, and coffee trees were introduced by the Belgians. Because local residents had no tradition of drinking coffee, many farmers were resistant to growing coffee. Under the exploitative management of the colonial government, the coffee quality can easily be imagined. In addition, Burundi had long-standing accumulated problems at the cultivation level, and producers lacked trust in buyers. These factors all severely dragged down the progress of Burundi's coffee quality.

In 1993, a turning point finally appeared in Burundi's coffee industry. Front Street learned that under special guidance from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Burundi began to face the value of the coffee industry squarely. But unfortunately, in October of the same year, the first Hutu president was assassinated, society fell into turmoil, and the coffee industry was forced to halt.

It was not until September 2006, when the local Tutsi party and anti-government organizations signed a ceasefire agreement, that Burundi's situation gradually stabilized and the coffee industry regained room for development. Front Street learned that the World Bank's coffee project strategy for Burundi at that time included two directions: first, expanding coffee washing stations, and second, comprehensively increasing total coffee cultivation.

In 2007, the Burundian government allowed private investment in washing stations. Before that, all washing stations were state-controlled, resulting in poor coffee bean quality and low finished-product efficiency. Allowing private construction of stations became a key turning point for Burundi's coffee industry.

In 2011, the EOC (Cup of Excellence) coffee organization held a coffee competition in Burundi, attracting international attention. Coffee farmers thereby realized that growing coffee could bring returns and began to take the quality of coffee cherries seriously on their own initiative.

Burundi Coffee Producing Regions

Front Street learned that Burundi's main coffee producing regions are five: Kayanza, Ngozi, Muyinga, Kirundo, and Kirimiro. Below, Front Street introduces them one by one for coffee fan friends.

Kayanza, Ngozi

Kayanza and Ngozi both lie at altitudes of 1,700-2,000 meters. The main rainy season begins in March-April, and after harvest it turns into the dry season in July, with an average annual temperature of 18-19°C. Low nighttime temperatures continue until early morning, so coffee cherries from these two producing regions have rich aroma and dense beans. Front Street also learned that Kayanza coffee scored a high 91.09 in the 2015 COE competition. Although Ngozi's output is less than Kayanza's, it has shown considerable quality potential in recent years. In the 2015 COE competition, its best lot scored 88.92, and other lots from this producing region also performed above 85 points. Kirundo This producing region is adjacent to the Rwandan border, has relatively low coffee output, and lies at 1,400-1,700 meters. Driven by the Kayanza producing region, Kirundo is gradually transitioning toward specialty lots, and washed lots have already reached the finals of the COE competition. Muyinga Located in northeastern Burundi, bordering Tanzania. The average altitude is 1,800 meters. Its coffee flavor differs slightly from Kayanza, and the mouthfeel is not as rich as Kayanza's. Kirimiro Located in the central mountainous area of Burundi, with an average temperature of 12-18°C. Annual rainfall is about 1,100 millimeters, lower than other producing regions. This producing region has both COE award-winning coffee and a professional coffee laboratory dedicated to quality monitoring of exported coffee.

In addition to the above five major producing regions, there are also some small producing regions equally worthy of attention, such as coffee beans from the Rutana producing region. After cupping and brewing, Front Street found that its flavor was excellent, rich on the palate, with vanilla notes, lower acidity than Kenyan coffee, yet with a fuller body than Kenyan coffee, possessing the typical characteristics of East African beans while still retaining individuality. Front Street therefore introduced this Burundian coffee from the Rutana producing region. The flavor is astonishing, and Front Street believes coffee fan friends who have tasted it will praise it endlessly.

This producing region is operated by a cooperative formed by small family coffee farmers, with a total of 539 small coffee farming households, 148 of which are women. On average, each household grows 10-200 coffee trees (at least 1,000 can be planted per hectare), showing that annual income is meager, and these are typical poor small coffee farming households.

Burundi Coffee Bean Variety

Front Street learned that Burundi mainly cultivates Bourbon coffee beans, at altitudes ranging from 700 to 2,700 meters. The impact of altitude on coffee beans is just as Front Street stated in previous articles: high-altitude coffee beans have a brighter flavor, while low-altitude coffee beans have a thinner body. Below, Front Street will talk about the Bourbon variety.

Bourbon

Front Street learned that Bourbon coffee was first planted on Réunion Island, which was also called Bourbon Island before 1789, and the name Bourbon comes from this. Bourbon is a secondary variety produced by a mutation of Typica, and together with Typica it is among the oldest existing coffee varieties. Bourbon green fruit turns bright red when ripe.

Therefore it is also called Red Bourbon. Front Street also learned that there are Yellow Bourbon and Pink Bourbon, all distinguished by fruit color. Usually after the coffee tree flowers and bears fruit, the fruit color changes as follows: green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > ripe red > overripe dark red. Especially Bourbon grown at high altitude often has better aroma, brighter acidity, and even a flavor reminiscent of red wine when drunk.

Next, Front Street will introduce the basic information of this African Heart coffee bean.

Front Street Coffee Burundi African Heart Coffee Beans

Country: Burundi Producing Region: Rutana Altitude: 1400-1700m Variety: Bourbon Processing Method: Washed Flavor: honey, kumquat, violet floral aroma, light acidity

As Front Street said, this Burundi African Heart coffee bean uses the washed processing method. The washed processing method best reflects the original flavor of coffee from a producing region. Washed coffee beans have a brighter and lighter flavor, so most countries use the washed processing method.

Washed Processing Method Flow:

1. Remove floating beans Pour the coffee beans into a large water tank. Underdeveloped defective beans will float to the surface, while ripe and plump fruits sink to the bottom. At this point, scoop out the floating beans on the surface, completing the removal of floating beans.

2. Remove skin and pulp Using a pulping machine, remove the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit. (Pectin, parchment, and silver skin will remain.)

3. Fermentation The purpose of this step is to remove pectin through biological processing. Place the coffee fruit treated by the pulping machine into a fermentation tank for 16-36 hours, and fermentation bacteria will dissolve the pectin.

4. Washing After fermentation and pectin removal are completed, fermentation bacteria and impurities will remain on the coffee beans, so the coffee beans are washed once more. In order to wash them clean, this step consumes a large amount of clean water.

5. Drying and removing parchment and silver skin Usually a machine (or sun drying) is used to dry the coffee fruit, reducing moisture content to 10-14%. Then a huller is used to remove the remaining parchment and silver skin, completing the processing.

The above is the Burundi coffee-related material compiled by Front Street. It is hoped that coffee fan friends can gain a deeper understanding of Burundian coffee so as to choose coffee suited to their own taste in the future.

Next, Front Street will share with coffee fan friends the process by which Front Street roasted and brewed this African Heart coffee bean!

Front Street Coffee Roasting Recommendations

Yangjia 800N, bean charge: 480g. Preheat the roaster to 200°C, lower to 175°C for charging, adjust heat to 120, open airflow to 3, turning point at 1'32", maintain heat; at 114°C keep heat unchanged, open airflow to 4.

At 6'15" it turns yellow, the grassy smell disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. At 140°C lower heat to 100 and keep airflow at 4. At 9'00" dehydration is complete, wrinkles and dark patches appear on the bean surface, and the toast smell turns into coffee aroma, which is the prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listening for the sound of first crack. At 10'25" first crack begins, open airflow fully to 5, and keep heat unchanged. After first crack, development time is 1'30", and drop at 193.5°C.

Front Street Coffee Cupping Report

Front Street Coffee's cupping is conducted within 8-24 hours after the coffee beans are roasted, using a 200ml ceramic cupping bowl, a standard cupping spoon made of antistatic metal, and a cupping water temperature of 94°. The grind size of the cupped coffee powder is controlled so that the passing rate through a No. 20 standard sieve (0.85 mm) is 70%-75%. The ratio is 1:18.18 (11.1 grams of coffee powder plus 200 milliliters of hot water), so that the extracted concentration falls exactly within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%. First grind and smell the dry fragrance, then pour water until the bowl is full. Confirm the wet aroma, and after 4 minutes break the crust and skim, then conduct flavor evaluation.

Dry Fragrance: floral

Wet Fragrance: dried fruit, berries

Flavor: raisins, berries, nuts, cream

Front Street Coffee Brewing Notes

Dripper: Hario 01

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 90°C

Grind size: medium-fine grind (80% passing rate through China standard No. 20 sieve)

Front Street brewing method: First wet the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee pot. Use 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a small circular stream until 125 grams for a stage break. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop pouring. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom.) Extraction time is 2'01".

Brewed flavor: jasmine aroma, raisin sweetness and strawberry gummy sweetness on the palate, nutty creamy mouthfeel.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.