Burundi Shinya Natural Process

Between the rich volcanic soil and intervals of rain and sun, Burundi is one of the most naturally gifted parts of Africa for coffee growth. Despite these natural advantages, conflict and lack of infrastructure have been barriers to fully achieving the full potential of this coffee. In recent years, specialty coffee in Burundi has taken off with more attention being paid to best processing practices at a number of privately owned washing stations. Masha is a very quality focused washing station and has been recognized over the years for its exceptional quality, finishing 7th in last year's cup of excellence competition. Masha buys coffee from 3,500 local farmers spread over 12 neighboring collines (counties), purchasing only the ripest cherries for their specialty lots. The main hill that supplies their coffee is called Shinya. In the natural process, they spread the sweet ripe cherries in a thin layer on raised beds to dry. These drying tables allow the coffee to dry more slowly than they would on a drying patio as air is able to circulate around the cherries as they dry. This makes the coffee more stable and allows fruit flavor to bake into the coffee seed. Drying ripe fruit to a stable moisture can be challenging when you’re working outside, which can make good natural processed coffees like this one hard to come by. This is our second natural process coffee from Burundi this year, and we’re excited to continue digging deeper in this area for years to come.