Region: Burambi, Rumonge
Elevation: 1500-1600 masl
About: At PMC, we love coffees from Burundi. This small and often overlooked country doesn't have the production power of its East African neighbors, but coffee is tied into the fabric of everyday life. Coffee production in Burundi is fueled by over 600,000 smallholders, and their income usually supports the entire family. To put that into perspective, the whole population of Burundi is just under 11 million people, meaning smallholder producers and their families make up almost 50% of Burundi's entire population. The Akawa Project comprises 13 mills, including the Nyagashiha washing station, aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty for producers in a sustainable and fair manner. Following the UTZ certification standards, the project emphasizes the importance of implementing good agricultural practices, fostering environmental responsibility, and promoting social equity as key factors for the success of its members. In 2019, Jean-Baptist, the station manager, conducted an experiment at Nyagashiha using a new double sorting method. The results were remarkable, as the coffee's clarity and sweetness significantly improved, leading to a 1-2 point increase in its scores. Subsequently, all specialty micro-lots from Nyagashiha have been processed using this method, and one of them even secured 20th place in the Cup of Excellence competition in 2019.
