Burundi
Mutana

Natural process Bourbon

Flavour: strawberries and cream, orange marmalade

Body: Acidity:

Heza

Switch-backing up mountainsides and across small hand-built log bridges, visiting Heza Washing Station at 1960 m.a.s.l can be likened to an off-road adventure. To say Heza Washing Station is ‘remote’ would be an understatement, and yet the community that lives in the surrounding hills is a special one, comprised mostly of coffee farmers. Heza means ‘beautiful place’ in Kirundi, the local language of Burundi. With panoramic views and an ever-changing East African sky, this washing station lives up to its name. Heza Washing Station processes its coffee by pumping spring water from a nearby natural spring.

During the natural process, coffee cherries are floated and hand-sorted, then placed directly on the drying tables. The whole coffee cherry spends between 25 and 30 days drying in its own skin, slowly turning from a deep red to a prune-like purple-black once it’s fully dry and at the preferred 10.5% moisture level.

Mutana

Mutana’s hills seem to roll into infinity. The hills are covered in a never-ending tapestry of green and possess the most breathtaking panoramic views. The edge of the Kibira Forest looms only a couple of kilometers away, allowing mist to drift from the forest and tumble onto farmers’ fields daily. With its mix of silty and sandy soils, Mutana can grow everything people like to eat. Wheat, cassava, potato, onions, peas, beans, sweet potato, passion fruit, and tea are grown alongside coffee. Tucked far away in the heart of the hill, hidden well beyond eye’s reach, is a waterfall. In order to reach it, you’d have to scramble down a steep hill covered in eucalyptus trees, cross over a small river, pass through a tea plantation, and follow a narrow dirt track.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Long Miles Project
Country: Burundi
Region: Kayanza
Altitude: 2100m above sea level
Variety: Bourbon
Process: natural
Importer: Osito
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Strawberries and cream, orange marmalade
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Bourbon variety

A natural mutation of the Typica varietal, Bourbon is named after Reunion Island (then known as Il Bourbon) where the French cultivated the Typica plants which naturally mutated.

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.

The Kayanza region of Burundi

Northern region near the Rwandan border

Farm processes

Natural process

This technique leaves some flesh on the coffee cherry during processing and drying. This results in flavours which may show jammy fruit and a little winey-ness.