The Businde washing station processes the cherry of around 1200 farming families in the northern province of Kayanza, close to the Rwandan border.
As with all of the coffees we buy from Raw Material, the price the owner of the Businde station, Zuberi Matsitsi, pays above the local market prices both for coffee cherries and for wages paid to seasonal and casual workers. On average they pay 20% above the local market price to their farmers and 60% (!!!) above the standard rate for casual workers in the whole of Burundi.
Hi levels of precipitation in Burundi cause problems in the processing of the coffee cherries, often leading to "Potato Defect," which is caused by an insect that loves moisture and delving into coffee cherries and the seeds inside. This often manifests in a starchy aroma, sometimes also slightly horseradish'y. This year, we were blown away by all of the lots that we tried from Raw Material's Burundi offerings. For maybe the first time since I started roasting, there wasn't a single lot that had the overwhelming starchiness. The Businde Natural lot stood out immediately. Despite being a natural processed coffee with a drying time of 23-30 days on raised beds, it is immensely clean and juicy!
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!!
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