Burundi Masha | Honey
COUNTRY: Burundi
REGION: Kayanza
VARIETY: Bourbon
ALTITUDE: 1672 masl
PROCESS: Honey
HARVEST: March-July
TASTING NOTES: Mild dark chocolate, cooked stone fruit and fresh berry flavours with mellow juicy acidity and candy like sweetness.
Kayanza
Most of Burundi's coffee is produced in the highlands of Kayanza. Located in northern Burundi along the border of Rwanda, small producers typically harvest and take cherries to community delivery sites that are all processed together at wet mills. We've been cupping Burundi coffees since 2006, and are consistently most impressed with the offerings from this region.
Masha
Masha washing station in Kayanza Burundi accepts coffee from over 3200 local farmers. Each producer has only 297 trees on average on roughly .11 hectares of land. These small-holder farmers are reliant upon coffee for their livelihood.
Harvest here is typically April through June, but coffees have a long journey to export from this landlocked country.
Coffee is processed at the BUDECA, SIVCA dry mill prior to export.
From our export partner:
Masha coffee washing station shares its name with the sub-hill upon which it stands and is actually more famous for its cattle than its coffee (the sub-hill that is). The name Masha is derived from the Kirundi word “amasho” meaning “herds of cattle”. The sub-hill has been a cross road for many herds in the region and many of the local herders even have a unique greeting for each other, used only in these parts which is appropriate considering that 70% of them own cows. They will say “gira amasho” towards one another meaning owner of cows and the abundance of cattle was even a reason for many Kings fighting over the territory in order to claim ownership over the vast herds of livestock.
Apart from cows and coffee, the hill on which the station is found, Gihororo, is named after the imihororo trees from which the locals weave traditional clothing making this region truly abundant in precious resources to its people. The station did experience its fair share of difficulties, especially when the country was in a period of turmoil. In 1997, the storage facility and main house at the station was burnt down by rebels during the political conflict in Burundi.
Washed coffees in Burundi are typically depulped the same day they're harvested and delivered, and fermented underwater for 12–24 hours before being washed for about two hours. Then the coffees are spread on drying tables or raised beds, where they dry for about 20 days, depending on the weather.