Mutana's hills border the Kibira Forest, and are truly breathtaking to behold. This lot is made up of 5 distinct harvest deliveries, referred to as “day lots”. In the cup we find bright citrus, Concord grape and date.
Field Blend
Kayanza
2,100 - 2,200 masl
May 16th - 18th, 2020
Hand picked at peak ripeness. Floated and hand sorted to further remove defects; depulped on the day of harvest. Double-fermented dry for 12 hours, then 24 hours submerged in water. Rinsed in fresh water. Density graded. Dried on traditional African raised beds for 16-20 days until moisture content reaches 10.5%.
We have been working with the Long Miles Coffee Project for a number of years, but this is the first year we made a selection from the seemingly endless rolling hills of Mutana. The edges of the Kibira Forest loom only a couple of kilometers away, which allows mist to fall from the forest and tumble onto farmer's fields each day. With its mix of silty and sandy soils, coffee is grown alongside a wide variety of other crops in this region.
Varieties in Burundi are not exactly straightforward. We know that Red Bourbon and Mibirizi are being cultivated; however, we don't know at what relative percentages. Based on the history of production in Burundi there is also most likely some SL34 being grown as well.
The Long Miles Coffee Project is the dream-become-reality of Ben and Kristy Carlson. The pair moved to Burundi in 2011 with a simple dream: Help coffee growers by helping roasters source consistently high quality coffees from Burundi. Their dream has grown from working with fifty coffee growers in 2013 to working with more than 5,500 at present. Long Miles has been extremely effective in helping to actualize Burundi’s natural potential for extremely high quality coffee, while also making an incredible impact socially, economically, and environmentally. Coffees from this project are some of our most anticipated of the year, and we are humbled and honored continue supporting their inspiring work.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.