Tasting Notes: Chocolate Toffee, White Grape
Hale Taste Scale: 8 - Clean & sweetness
Varietals: Red Bourbon
Elevation: 1650 masl
Process: Washed
Region: Ngozi
Best Enjoyed As: Any pour over method
Fermentation Time: 10-12 hours
Drying Time: 14 - 21 Days
More about Gikingo:
Burundi is known to produce incredibly clean, sweet and floral coffees. This is partly due to the impressive microclimate and high elevations available in the country.
From the beginning, coffee has been a vital source of income for the people despite the limitations on production and lack of infrastructure available to smallholders. Since the privatization of the coffee sector in 2008, companies and cooperatives were able to own washing stations and improve the conditions of the surrounding farms they work with. The combined efforts of these industry players have dramatically increased the quality and demand for Burundi coffees on the world stage.
This lot in particular from the Nkaka washing station is a great example of a minimal-intervention, terroir-driven coffee that displays the unique sweetness and complexity of the coffees grown in the area of Gikingo.
Upon harvest, ripe cherries are manually picked and delivered to the Nkaka washing station. The processing starts when ripe cherries are washed and soaked in water to remove floaters and impurities. Cherries that pass this selection are depulped and left to ferment in water from a nearby stream for 10-12 hours before being washed and graded in canals. Finally, the coffees are moved to covered tables to dry for a period of 14-21 days.
