Burundi
Masha
Honey

The honey process boosts this brew’s texture and body. We find notes of stewed rhubarb and marmalade sweetness, with crisp chinotto-like acidity on the finish.

Honey process Red Bourbon

Flavour: chinotto, stewed rhubarb, marmalade

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

Burundi is (thankfully) back after a (too long) hiatus in our coffee lineup!

Masha Coffee Washing Station is located in Burundi, which is a country well-known for its coffee production. The sub-hill where the washing station stands is called Masha, meaning “herds of cattle” in Kirundi, due to its historical association with cattle herding.

The washing station was established in 1989, and it primarily purchases coffee cherry from subsistence farmers who intercrop their trees with food and other cash crops. In order to encourage farmers to renovate their plantings, Greenco, the company that oversees the washing station, purchases seeds from the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), establishes nurseries, and sells the seedlings to farmers at or below cost.

During the harvest season, all coffee is selectively hand-picked, and quality assurance begins as soon as farmers deliver their cherry. Cherries are wet-processed under constant supervision, and the pulping, fermentation time, washing, grading in the channels, and a final soaking are all closely monitored. Once dry, the parchment is then bagged and taken to the warehouse. Greenco’s team of expert cuppers assess every lot at the lab before shipment.

The coffee is sent to Budeca, Burundi’s largest dry mill, where it is milled and hand-sorted by a team of hand-pickers who look closely at every single bean to ensure zero defects. The mill produces an average of 300 containers of 320 bags per year.

Learn more about Burundi and its coffee history here.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Red Bourbon coffee beans, provided by Sucafina and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: AA (Burundi) ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: ~2,000 Farmers Near Masha C.W.S.
Country: Burundi
Region: Kayanza
Altitude: 1,670m above sea level
Varietals: Red Bourbon
Process: honey
Country grade: AA (Burundi)
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Chinotto, stewed rhubarb, marmalade
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varietals

Red Bourbon varietal

The location

Coffee from Burundi

Coffee first arrived in Burundi in the 1920s while the country was still under Belgian colonial rule. Since the civil war in 1993 Burundi has placed a great importance on growing the coffee industry and the flow on effects that will have on the country’s economy.

Farm processes

Honey process

This technique leaves some flesh on the coffee cherry as it is washed and dried. This tends to give a slightly sweeter flavour, but can also reduce the quality and longevity of the coffee due to the fermentation of the sugars in the flesh.