Burundi
Shembati Washing Station

Washed process Bourbon

Flavour: apricot jam and orange blossom

Body: Acidity:

Shembati Coffee Washing Station was established in 2017 and serves around 4,000 smallholder producers in the area around Butaganzwa commune in the Kayanza region.

These producers deliver their harvests to the washing station, where it’s processed using a method that the station calls “double fermentation.” The pulp flesh of the fruit is removed, then the cherry is fermented dry for 12 hours, and fermented again for 6-18 hours underwater, before being fully washed. It’s is then soaked for 10-12 hours.

After this, the coffee is placed on tables under shade for 1-3 days, then moved to tables under full sun for a further 12-14 days.

The typical farmer in this area owns less than half a hectare of land. As well as growing coffee, they’ll also grow crops for sale and to feed their household – usually bananas, beans, yams, taro, and cassava.

Due to the small crops, you’ll notice that it’s more common to see washing stations and cooperatives shown as the producer for coffee in Burundi and other African countries.

Unlike Central and South America where landholdings are larger, in Africa most producers do not have the space or financial means to do their own milling and post-harvest production.

Instead, they’ll deliver cherry to a facility that does sorting, blending, and post-harvest processing of day lots to create different offerings, such as the one you’re enjoying.

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: Various Smallholder Farms
Country: Burundi
Region: Kayanza
Altitude: 1730-1800m above sea level
Variety: Bourbon
Process: washed
Harvested: June 2018
Importer: Cafe Imports
Body: Medium
Acidity: Delicate
Tasting notes: Apricot jam and orange blossom
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

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.